


My Hero (Shinsou Hitoshi X Reader)

by interchaellar



Category: My Hero Academia, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia Manga Spoilers, Character Development, Comfort, Cute, Cute & soft, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, High School, Independence, Reader Has a Quirk (My Hero Academia), Reader Replaces Mineta Minoru, Romance, Shinsou Hitoshi is in Class 1-A, Slow Burn, Soft Shinsou Hitoshi, slow burn kind of, x Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 58
Words: 179,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23507062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interchaellar/pseuds/interchaellar
Summary: You and Shinsou Hitoshi went to the same middle school together but barely made contact with one another. You two only acknowledge one another when it came to school and group projects. Everything that goes beyond those were an unknown territory. On your first day in U.A., you were shocked to see a familiar figure entering the school in uniform. Although you two hardly exchanged words in middle school, somehow fate brought the two of you closer whether you liked it or not. As months and months passed, the two of you started forming a bond, almost inseparable, but the story and the journey behind was a whole different story.
Relationships: Shinsou Hitoshi/Reader
Comments: 49
Kudos: 563





	1. Familiar Faces

You stopped riding your bike once you had gotten closer to the school, stepping out and started walking beside it. While walking, you saw a bunch of students entering the school: some alone and some with their friends. The night before you were practically sleepless, too excited to even shut your eyes. Your dream to become a hero was starting to become a reality. But upon seeing the school up close in your new school uniform, you couldn't help but feel nervous. You clenched your fists tightly looking down at them as a smile formed in the corner of your lips, "you can do this." You thought to yourself and entered the school gates. 

While walking, you started looking at your surroundings. It was definitely much bigger than your old school. "I can't wait to get used to this!" You exclaimed in your head as the smile on your face only grew wider and wider. Your tracks immediately stopped once an indigo haired student passed by with tired eyes caught your attention. "S-Shinsou?" You accidentally said out loud instead of keeping it inside your thoughts. With your eyes wide, the boy stopped walking. His hair flowing with the wind as he turned his body slightly to just see you in his peripheral vision, "(Y/N)," his voice was deep and stern as always. 

The two of you stayed like that fora couple of seconds before he started walking again. You didn't expect or hear from anyone that he was attending U.A. at all. For some odd reason, words didn't leave your lips and your body just shut down. Was it disbelief? 

In middle school, Shinsou was usually picked on but it wasn't too extreme since people who made fun of him, also feared him. He was quiet and usually by himself, he liked it that way but whenever a group of people start surrounding him and start telling him how his Quirk was for a villain and discouraged in his dream to become a hero, he would force a smile and wouldn't say anything.

"Your Quirk is awesome, but shouldn't you just be a villain?"  
"No hero can have that Quirk."  
"Don't talk to him, he might brainwash you."

Jokes and jokes would be thrown at him but he knew they weren't jokes and his classmates actually meant everything they said. "You won't brainwash us, right?" They all laughed around him as he just awkwardly smiled, rubbing the back of his neck.

You were brought back to reality, seeing him go farther and farther away from you as he entered the school building. You placed your bicycle in the bicycle rack, locking it and placing the key inside your bag. "I wonder what Class he's in." You thought to yourself and looked around the big school, already lost and confused to where you had ended up at. You flinched, jumping at the sudden arm wrapped around your shoulder, "you're the girl from the entrance exam!" She said happily with a smile on her face. You looked at the pink haired and skinned girl beside you. You gave her a smile once your thoughts registered and finally remembered her.

"What class are you in?" She asked with her eyes shut while her smile was wide as ever. "Class 1-A -" the girl immediately squealed and pulled you closer to her, "WE'RE CLASSMATES!" She exclaimed loudly, making everyone look at the two of you in the hallways. You laughed nervously and rubbed the back of your neck, "I'm actually lost.. do you know where our classroom is?" She nodded without hesitation and let go of you, leading you the way.

The whole day went by so fast. You made so much friends and the company you felt in the class was so different from the past. "Alright, that'll be all for now. Class dismissed." Aizawa said in his usual mono toned and tired voice, the bell ringing shortly after his sentence. Everyone got on their feet and started talking to each other. You were seated beside Mina and as Aizawa walked out of the classroom, she got up and raised her hands above her head in fists, "I'M EXCITED!!" She yelled her heart out. Standing up, your started to pack your things and placed them inside your bag, zipping it close after. "Are you heading to the train station (Y/N)? If so, can I come with you?" Mina asked as she watched you put on your backpack. "Oh, no I actually just live close by." She pouted an "aww" sound. You couldn't help but laugh, "sorry to upset you."

You said your goodbyes to your new friends and walked out of the classroom. You had bumped into the same boy you did a while ago once again but this time he didn't bat an eye at you and just kept walking. You watched as he walked down the hall by himself, getting lost in your thoughts once again. "Oh (Y/N), you're still here?" Midoriya walked out of the classroom. You turned to look at him and nodded, "yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about something." You then went along with your day like nothing happened.

There was something about Shinsou you were quite fascinated with but you didn't know what it was.


	2. Your Quirk

A month or so has passed and your class was training harder than ever. Although there have been ups and downs, your class continues to work hard and get stronger day by day. "15 minutes left on the clock." Aizawa said thru the speakers as you and your team (Sero, Tsuyu, and Kirishima) hid inside one of the buildings. Tsuyu was on look out while you three remained on the ground floor, trying to hear if the other team was nearby. 

Today's challenge was a 4v4 battle. Each student was given a headband that they must wear on their heads and protect no matter what. If your headband was retrieved by the opposing team, you will be eliminated and sent back to where Aizawa and the rest of your classmates stayed at. 

Your team managed to get one and it was Kaminari's. Although your team almost fell for the trap, you all managed to get back on your feet and got one. "This is more difficult than I thought." Kirishima let out an angered groan. "Why can't we just fight them on our own? Like split up." Sero suggested thru his helmet. You quickly shook your head, turning his suggestion down, "they might be split up, but that's exactly what they're trying to pull. They left Kaminari out in the open knowing we'd get to him, we were lucky to make it out of that trap fast without getting eliminated." The two boys just sighed, Kirishima now on the ground with his back resting on the wall.

"Tsuyu, any signs?" You asked thru the mic attached to your headpiece. She fell from the top floor and landed on her legs without a problem, "I saw Sato by himself hopping from building to building looking around." She responded, getting up on her legs as she stood up straight. "One thing is for sure, we can't hide forever, it's not manly." Kirishima complained. You stood there for a while and thought to yourself silently, trying to think of a plan. "10 minutes left." Aizawa reported.

And just like that, you snapped your fingers and hope was in everyone's eyes as you waved them all to come closer and told them your plan. "That's.. will it work?" Sero asked while Kirishima got back up on his two feet with his fists clenched, "now that's what I'm talking about." He said with the biggest grin on his face. Your team started moving, running in different directions. Sero started using his Quirk, firing large amounts of tape from building to building, practically making a spiderweb. Tsuyu and Kirishima were moving building to building while you hid in one of the buildings, waiting for your cue.

Sero continued firing and now it was time to wait. Your remaining opponents were Sato, Tokoyami, and Hagakure. While looking out the window, you heard something from behind you. Out of instinct, you quickly dodged the attack that caused a hole in the wall. You regained balance on your knee, looking up to see Tokoyami with his Dark Shadow Quirk. "You found me faster than I thought." You stood up on your feet and got into a stance, your fists up. "It wasn't hard, just took a while." He replied, "but I'm not here to conversate." Quickly the Dark Shadow made its way towards you but once again you dodged it, this time not landing on your legs but fell on your back. You hissed in pain and saw the shadowed bird come for another attack but you lift your arm up towards it, sending him flying across the room.

Your Quirk was Telekinesis. Similar to Uraraka's but you didn't need to touch anything to make it float. You're able to move objects, clothing, and even people but you can only do it at a certain amount of time for it exhausts your mind and makes you dizzy and ill. 

You managed to get on your feet before he could, "how's everyone doing?" You asked thru the mic. "We got 'em!" Kirishima announced and Tsuyu croaked. Tokoyami regains consciousness and finally gets up. "You're all by yourself, what can you do? You're already drained after all." Tokoyami taunted you, his dark shadow coming out of his torso once again, roaring stronger than ever. You wiped the blood dripping from your nose, panting. 

"Tsuyu, Kirishima.." you paused and gave the black bird before you a smirk, "..now." And just like that Kirishima lands a powerful punch on Sato, sending him flying towards Tsuyu who had just captured Hagakure. She wraps them both around her slimy and long tongue before spinning round and round and when it was powerful enough, she lets them go and the red head once again, lands a powerful punch and sends them both flying towards Sero's spiderweb made out of tape. Your sudden movements caused Tokoyami to react, giving you an opening before sending him flying too. "SERO, NOW!" You yelled thru your mic weakly before collapsing on one knee. The three of them got tangled up in tape as Sero appears from the shadows and retrieves all of their headbands.  
The horns started blowing, signalling the match was over. The opposing team were all tangled up together in tape. Your team started cheering at the victory, "HELL YEAH!" Kirishima yelled with his whole chest pridefully. "Not fair!" Hagakure sulked. Your team helped them get out of that tangled mess and went back to the main room together.

"YOU GUYS WERE AWESOME!" Uraraka complimented, her eyes sparkling in delight. "It was all thanks to (Y/N)." Kirishima held you by your shoulder and smiled widely, Sero and Tsuyu nodding beside him. "How did you think about that plan so fast? I could've sworn we had you guys in the bag." Kaminari heaved a breath. "Well, I thought about Sero's suggestions about splitting up a bit more and knew I could trust them with their own tasks given to them." Midoriya gasped, "that's amazing!" 

"There were a lot of errors though, but at least the outcome was good." You mumbled to yourself. The last 2 matches went by smoothly and it was already lunchtime. You were the first girl to finish changing back into your uniform and so you told Mina you were going ahead and left the locker room. You placed your suitcase back to where it belonged and decided to head to the library before heading to the cafeteria since you needed to return something after all. You grabbed the book you had borrowed a week ago and made your way to the school's library. As usual it's semi empty, only having around 20 and below students inside.

There was a short line of students in the librarian's desk and so you went to the back and waited for your turn. Your vision was starting to get blurry and your ears were ringing, making it hard for you to balance properly on your feet. You accidentally dropped the book and had kicked it while trying to balance, sending it to bump into someone's foot. You attempted to walk slowly on your weak feet, your head low, "I'm sorry." You bent over and reached for the book, almost falling on your behind. "Fuck." You cussed silently at yourself, grabbing the book and quickly stood up, bowing to the person you had disturbed and went back in line.

"This is from my fight with Tokoyami." You thought to yourself. You indeed had a strong Quirk, but it was hard to manage. You looked at your digits and saw them trembling, quickly forming a fist with your hands and clenched it tightly. Although you were in bad shape, you were happy to see that you had improved and used that much power to send Tokoyami flying. Twice. It was your turn and you returned the book, saying your thank you's to the librarian before leaving to head to the cafeteria.

-

During afternoon classes you were zoning out, making your pencil levitate and spin around on your table in air as you do. Your training from today kept repeating in your head over and over again. Usually if you used that much power in one go, you'd pass out on the spot and wouldn't regain consciousness 'til the next morning. But now you managed to not only do it once, but twice. You were impressed with yourself even more since you didn't pass out yet though your body is weak, it's still an improvement. 

"(Y/N), are you good?" Tsuyu whispered to you from the back. You flinched, making your pencil stop floating and dropped on the ground. You nodded, "yeah I am, why do you ask?" You asked as you picked the pencil up, placing it back on your desk. "You've been zoning out since lunch." Mina joined in. You shook your head, "I'm fine, alright? Just feeling a bit fuzzy." You reassured them and started listening to the lessons being discussed. 

The bell rang and your next class was Homeroom. Aizawa usually takes a while to arrive so everyone was doing their own thing by the mean time while Iida was lecturing some of his classmates from the front but it seemed like no one was listening. "Your attack was pretty strong." Uraraka formed an 'o' with her lips. "Was shocked you even did it twice to be honest. Last time I remembered, you had to leave school after you passed out." Jirou looked at the ceiling and rubbed her chin as if she was analyzing something. Mina giggled, "just means our (Y/N) is improving!" She said with a wide smile and wrapped her hands around your neck, pulling you into a tight hug. You placed your hand on hers, smiling until her grip tightened, making you choke.

"MINA YOU'RE HUGGING HER TOO TIGHTLY!" Yaoyorozu scolded making the alien smile shyly, letting you go. "Thanks Momo." You rubbed your neck lightly. "But they're not wrong, (Y/N). That was the strongest you've ever been." She added with a sweet smile. You smiled back and at the same time the door opened as Aizawa entered.

-

He looked down at his book, analyzing the words and thought to himself silently. His tired eyes were too focused on the book to the point he had forgotten he was just standing up in the middle of the library. Something had bumped into his foot, making him snap and go back to reality. The boy looked around to see who owned the book and was about to pick it up himself until a girl with trembling legs came approaching him with her head low. Right when she was about to grab the book, she almost lost her balance but regained it quickly. Ever so slightly, he could see her face was tinted with a deep shade of red. The female grabbed the book and kept her head down as she stood up, bowing to the male. "I'm sorry.." she said weakly and went back to the line she stayed at.

He eyed the girl for a while, analyzing her before walking away to sit somewhere by himself with the book he had just picked out.


	3. Self Improvement

Aizawa has given you and your class to practice on your Quirks on your own. He has assigned each and every one of you different tasks. Tokoyami was sent inside a dark room to let him take control over Dark Shadow when in the dark, Iida's task was to keep his engine running the whole time so he can control his speed better, and so on. Your task was to try to make someone levitate for longer than 2 minutes. Seems simple enough to others but for you, you never even surpassed a minute without your body giving in and collapsing. You can move objects for as long as you can but still find it difficult to lift heavy and big objects. Due to the lack of people, instead of making someone levitate, Aizawa has changed your task to moving broken cement pieces. 

On the top of the tower is Kirishima who is destroying big chunks of cement, making them all fall on you. You quickly move every piece away with your Quirk, focusing. This wasn't so hard until Aizawa decided to keep it up a notch and give Kirishima even bigger and stronger materials to break. Your eyes widened when you noticed the small chunks of broken down pavement have turned to steel right away. Caught off guard, it almost lands on you but you succeeded to stop it and throw it away. It went on for 10 minutes until Kirishima ran out of things to destroy. You quickly sat down and tried catching your breath. "You good down there, (Y/N)?" He asked from the top. You give him a thumbs up, still trying to catch your breath.

The class ended after a short while and everyone headed to their locker rooms to change back into their uniforms. You sat down on the bench as you panted, leaning forward with your elbows resting on your lap. "That felt.. good." You looked at your hand and it was no longer trembling. You changed into your uniform and placed your gym clothes inside the locker, "(Y/N) you heading out first again?" Yaoyorozu asked. You shook your head, "I'm good, I already returned my book yesterday." You replied, putting your school shoes on. "You really like the library, (Y/N)?" Tsuyu turned to look at you with raised brow. You let out a short laugh, rubbing your nape, "kinda? It's my safe place that's all and I can think clearly there without feeling like I'm being drowned." You explained as everyone listened. "Haven't even been inside the library yet." 

-

On your way back to the classroom, you had passed by the library. You looked at the closed doors and started thinking if you should go in or not. Someone opened the door but before they went in, they looked at you causing you to look them in the eyes. "You coming in or what?" Shinsou quirked a brow at you. Your eyes widened in surprise, you nodded and took his offer. You entered the library as he opened the door for you, entering after you did. You didn't know why the male suddenly did that, but you didn't think much of it.

"Glad to see you're not on the verge of breaking down like yesterday." He said out of the blue, making you pause and react a little later. "How did you -" he cuts you off by giving you a book that you had returned just yesterday. Your eyes immediately widened when you realized and started bowing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He shook his head, "it's fine." You stood up straight and held the book he had given you close to your chest, "I must've looked like an idiot, huh.." he tilted his head lightly with his lips straight, "kinda."

You managed to laugh. Without the two of you realizing, you both have sat down together at one of the tables and started talking. "You're in Class 1-A, huh." He said and rested his chin on the palm of his hand, his digits tapping on the flesh on top of his lips as his eyes looked at yours. You nodded, "and you're?" He pulls back and folded his arms, "Class 1-C of the General Department" He replied with. Your lips formed an 'o' shape as you nodded. You expected him to be in a Hero Course but didn't make a comment.

"If you mind me asking.." his tone lowered making you raise both of your brows as you waited for his question. "What happened to you yesterday?" Your lips agape, nodding slowly, "Oh umm.. that was right after a challenge. Used my Quirk a little too much that my body was slowly shutting down." You explained briefly as he nodded his head, listening to every word you say. "Don't know if you recall, maybe you do, but didn't the same thing happen in middle school?" You paused for a while, trying to dig memories from the back of your head. He noticed your fixated expression as you zoned out, "in middle school I don't know the exact story, but it had to do with you passing out during P.E."

"Ah yeah, now I remember. It was when umm.." you snapped your fingers, trying to recall something, "Kim! Yeah, umm.. Kim was talking about my Quirk and that I can make people levitate and control where they go and so on." He nodded slowly. "Well she was one of my closest friends at the time and when she started showing my Quirk off to people to make more friends, she would tell me to make her float and fly around. And so when she kept telling me to do it again and again, my body shut down and I passed out."

"You didn't come back to school for the whole week." You nodded and rubbed on your elbow, "ever since that incident it only got harder and harder for me to lift people up. Yesterday was the most successful one so far though even though my body was at its limit." You laughed nervously, "I'm rambling too much, I'm sorry." Shinsou shook his head and the bell rang, signalling students that lunch break was over. 

You slowly stand up. "Wait, (Y/N)." You froze and sat back down slowly. "One last question before you leave. Please?" Your brows furrowed, not knowing what to expect. His lips parted, about to say something but stopped immediately, "never mind." He got up from his seat, "Shinsou -" you watched him turn his back on you and leave the now empty library. You sighed, getting up on your own, "what was that all about."

You left the library with the most confused look on your face, thinking about that random interaction. Talking or having a conversation with Shinshou was the last thing you expected to happen especially after your first encounter with him this school year, which was also your only interaction until now. "Whatever," you told yourself and headed back to your classroom.

-

"Dinner's ready, (Y/N)." Your mother said thru your door, knocking. "I'll be right there." You replied back, focusing on the basket filled with dumbbells. You lift your hand up, aiming right at it and closed your eyes before taking deep breaths. "You can do this, you can do this." You repeated to yourself over and over again before opening your eyes and darted your attention to the basket that slowly started to float. The basket was roughly around 70g, the average human weight.

Your limbs started to tremble already, your legs especially. You started moving the basket up and down as fast as you can. You looked down on your phone that displayed at timer on the screen. "Just surpass one minute and you'll be good to go." You told yourself and kept fighting, moving the basket all around your room. "10.. 9.. 8..7.." you took deep breaths, feeling your breath shortening. 

"4.. 3.. 2... and 1!" You exclaimed loudly and collapsed on the ground, panting heavily while the timer on your phone started ringing. The basket filled with weights drops down, making a faint thud thanks to your carpeted floor. You can always make yourself levitate but never others. The door of your room opened, "are you done, sweetie?" You nodded, getting up on your two feet slowly. 

Although you're friends with Uraraka, you see her as your competition. You both have similar Quirks, different weaknesses, yet the same effect if you both push yourselves too much. In Uraraka's case, she can make things float with just a touch with no problem at all. But gets motion sickness when she's too far from the ground. Meanwhile you on the other hand can move things around without touching them, but your body shuts down when it comes to lifting heavy objects and making humans float.

You looked back on the days when you could do it with no problem at all. You didn't do it every day, but always did it when you were having fun with your friends and playing with your younger and older brother. Your body shut down for the first time in middle school when a girl who you thought was a new friend, pushed you to your limits. Ever since you passed out for the first time due to exhaustion, it felt as if your Quirk weakened. 

"Please refrain from using your Quirk for the next few months, Ms (L/N)." The doctor said to you in a saddened tone as your facial expression was blank. "Not even -" he cuts you off by taking his glasses off and placing them on his desk, "even in the slightest way. We suggest you don't use your Quirk for the next few months to ensure you recover quick." You felt as if your heart had just came out of your chest and fell on the ground, stepped on over and over again. Your mom and dad comforted you silently as no words had left your mouth at all, your eyes looking down.

"It's nothing too serious, I promise you. We just want you to recover as fast as you can. After you successfully get thru it, you can use your Quirk again in no time and as much as you'd like." Were the biggest lies you have ever heard. Your body is still as bad as it was and your Quirk is not as strong as it used to. You didn't need to be absent for a whole week, but your parents decided it was best you stayed at home. You didn't leave your bed or your room at all and started skipping meals.

Being a hero was your biggest dream ever since you were saved by one during a shipwreck, you've only had one ultimate goal in life and one only and that was to become a hero everybody can depend on without a single doubt. This incident caused you to look down on yourself. "Heroes can't save lives if they'll just collapse before even saving any." You clenched your fists tightly, "I can't just save one person one day and let the rest die just because I don't have enough power." Tears started flowing down your cheeks as you yelled loudly at your parents.

"I CAN'T BE A HERO EVERYONE DEPEND ON IF MY MOVEMENT IS LIMITED AND CAN ONLY SAVE A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE."

You settled down on a chair, everyone in your family seated on the dining table eating together. "How are you today, (Y/N)? How was U.A.?" Your mother asked you, handing you a bowl filled with warm soup. You smiled lightly, "I'm doing good."


	4. Cat Boy

You were later than usual, riding your bike to school hurriedly as you had accidentally slept in. You placed your bike in the bicycle rack and ran up the steps that lead to your classroom. The moment you entered the classroom everyone was gathered at the back making you furrow your brows at them. "What's happening?" You asked Todoroki who remained seated on his desk without a bother. "They found a stray kitten." He replied with a straight face before returning back to his notebook reading his notes. 

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)! (Y/N), LOOK!" Mina was waving her hands in the air as she jumped in joy. You placed your bag down on your desk before making your way towards the semi crowded area. Midoriya had a tiny black kitten on his arms, meowing. Your eyes immediately widened and started petting the cute little animal. "Oh, who's this little baby?" You asked and poked its sides lightly. "I was making my way here and found her laying down by the corner in the hallway. I looked around if the mom was seen anywhere but no sign of her." Midoriya explained. You kept petting the little kitten as it purred to your touch.

"You're really good with cats, (Y/N)." Iida gasped. You chuckled lightly, "I used to have one when I was young but when he was out one night he never came back." Midoriya gestures you to hold the kitten for him and you take the baby. "Midoriya and I will try to look for the mom outside." The taller male with glasses announced with the small Green haired boy nodding beside him. "Wait where's Koda?" You looked around for him while the kitten meowed. "He's not here yet, he might even be absent." Sato answered. 

"Tsuyu and I will look for the mom in the ground floor." Mina pointed to herself before the two left the classroom. Iida and Midoriya exchange the same looks to one another before leaving the room together shortly. "Stupid bitches it's just a cat why are ya wasting your breath for?" Bakugou complained as usual, putting his feet up on his desk as he leaned back on his chair with his hands behind his head. 

Kirishima nudged the blond, "what do you say Kaminari, want to look around too?" The blond nodded with a big smile on his face, the two ran outside of the classroom right away. You kept the kitten close to your chest, still petting it. "If Mr Aizawa finds out about this we'll be dead meat." Hagakure shook in fear. You stayed inside the classroom and took close care for the kitten. It was only 5 minutes until classes start and this kitten is still motherless. "If Mr Aizawa finds out about this kitten, we might even be expelled." You said silently and looked around, "can someone buy me milk in the vending machine?" You asked your classmates and Uraraka volunteered. You gave her the money and watched her leave the classroom running. 

Just a minute before the bell rings and everyone arrived in the classroom at the same time. They all hurriedly ran to their respective seats and sat down right away, Uraraka using her Quirk to make the small carton of milk float and you catch it and put it under your desk right when the door opened and revealed Aizawa. Everyone stood up and greeted him, "take your seats." He said and everyone did as told. A couple of students were breathing heavily as sweat dropped from their faces. Some eyes were on you because the kitten was under your desk and so was the carton of milk you had bought for it. 

"Why does everyone look like they just did a marathon in the early morning?" Everyone's eyes widened. "We just did some warm-ups since everyone seemed to still be exhausted from yesterdays activity." Iida explained with the usual smile on his face. "I've never seen him this stressed out." Mina whispered to you and laughed. "And you Ashido, what's with the laughing? Is something funny to you?" She quickly shook her head, "NO SIR." 

"Well, whatever. I have some announcements so you all better listen up."   
"YES SIR"

The air was less tense now. Good thing Momo used Creation and made a tiny bowl for the kitten to drink milk at inside the compartment of your desk. You sneakily poured milk into the bowl and successfully didn't spill a single drop and didn't get caught. You placed it back under your desk and you can hear it drinking silently. "Please don't meow, please don't meow -"

"Meow~" she purred softly after, your eyes shutting. "What was that?" Aizawa slowly turned around from the board and looked at everyone and the possible direction that noise came from. Cold sweat dripped down your body as you felt his eyes land on you. You swallowed hard, trying to remain calm. Midoriya suddenly stood up and bowed, "I'm sorry mr Aizawa. That was me." He bowed. All eyes were on Midoriya and you were still in panic mode.

"Don't lie to me like that, Midoriya. You know the consequences." He glared at him, his hair flowing in the air. Midoriya gulped and cleared his throat, "m-m-m....meow..."

The whole class snickered silently before bursting out of laughter. His face flushed in a deep shade of red as he slowly sat back down in shame. Aizawa sighed, "whatever you say, Midoriya." He went back to the board and continued discussing the lesson, everyone still silently trying to hold back their laughter.

It was finally break time and the moment your teacher left the classroom, everyone heaved a relieved breath, sinking down on their seats. You slowly checked on the kitten under your desk and she was sleeping soundly. You sighed, "that was a close one." Everyone then started laughing at Midoriya who stayed seated the whole time and never spoke a word since the incident.

They patted him in the back, "we're proud of you!" His head still being covered by his hands in shame, he just quivered. "Cats are usually adventurous I'm surprised she hasn't leaped out of your desk yet." Jirou went on the same level as you and admired the kitten. "Don't jinx it please. If it weren't for Midoriya I could've been expelled right there and then." 

"I don't know what to feed her though. She drank a lot of milk, basically almost finished the bowl. She must've been hungry for a while now." You looked at the kitten with saddened eyes. "I don't think she's old enough to eat solid foods. And if she is, I don't have cat food with me." You added with a frustrated sigh. "We can't leave the campus to buy any either, you need a teacher's permission to do so and they need to know why."

"We can just lie." Kaminari said simply with a shrug. "Got any excuses then? And if you do, which teacher are you planning to ask?" Everyone looked at each other and shrugged, not knowing what to say. "Let's just hope the cafeteria has fish for lunch." You looked at the kitten and looked at her closely. From her dark black fur to her little light pink toe beans. Time passed and it was already the 2nd to the last period of the day.

Fortunately, they were serving fish today and the kitten was able to eat. It was Midnight's class now so everyone seemed to be either entertained or sleeping. As you copied the notes from the board, you felt something leap onto your lap making your eyes go wide. Mina noticed that kitten on your lap and was about to scream until Tsuyu covered her mouth with her tongue. You tried to get a hold of her until she decided to jump out of your lap and run to the back of the classroom. 

Your whole body froze and as some people in the class noticed, their eyes widened and started silently panicking too. You looked at the kitten make her way towards the door and started scratching it, making a faint sound. You suddenly raised your hand, "Ms Midnight may I go to the clinic? My stomach it's.." you clenched your stomach tightly, leaning forward to your desk in attempt to act in pain. Your sudden outburst made her eyes grow wide in concern, "y-yes you may, (Y/N)." 

Just like that you stood up from your desk and started making your way towards the door, opening it which enables the kitten to run freely. "At least the chances of her getting caught are lower." You thought to yourself and closed the door behind you, trying to catch up to the fast little kitten. Panic hit you like a wave when you saw her jump down the stairs and leaped left and right without a problem. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" You whispered yell to make sure you don't interrupt any classes.

Following the kitten in an attempt to catch her, she made her way to the back of the school. "Come here you little -" you saw a teacher and stopped running, hiding behind a huge potted plant. The kitten managed to slip out without a problem as usual and you were getting more and more frustrated. When the coast was clear you immediately started running on the direction the kitten did.

You saw it from the distance, it started slowing down. "You do get tired." You thought to yourself. Quickly, you ran towards it but your eyes saw one of the heroes checking up on the area for intruders. "Fuck." You swore internally and reached your hand out, trying to get the kitten to you. 

The kitten flies into your arms and you quickly ran to a different direction, sneaking away successfully. You panted, leaning forward with your knees bent, your free hand on your knee while the other kept the kitten close. "You little shit." You cussed at the little baby while taking deep breaths in between your words. "I would've done that to you the first time if you weren't leaping all over the fucking place." You kept cussing at it and she just nibbled on your finger.

"This is how you repay me? Biting me? Not even a single thank you." You started to talk to the kitten. The little animal licks the part she just nibbled on, rubbing her head against your digit and purred in delight. "Yeah of course you're the one enjoying this." You couldn't help but smile at her, planting a peck on her head, petting her lightly.

You finally exhaled air and was about to head back inside until you caught someone staring at you from the corner of your eye. You turned to look at who it was and was greeted with a small wave. You waved back at him and your eyes dart to what was resting on his arms. You quickly made your way towards him and saw the adult black cat he was petting. You looked at the kitten in your arms that had the same features at the other cat, "you were gonna go to her weren't you?" You thought to yourself and chuckled lightly, "you're lucky I managed to get you before the Pro Hero could." You put the kitten down and was finally reunited with her mother.

You dropped to the ground, "fuck." You swore loudly and laid down on the grass, exhausted. Shinsou stood up and looked down on you with his usual stoic and blank expression on his face. "What are you doing here?" You asked him, covering your eyes with your arm as you lay there in peace. He chuckled, "I think I should be the one asking you." He said and sat down beside your laying body. "My class is doing an activity right now and I just happened to bump into a cat." He explained. You removed your arm from your eyes and looked at him, "you like cats, huh."

He nodded slightly, eyeing the mother and her daughter playing together after being separated for a long while. "I don't know why but I saw that coming." You placed both of your hands behind your head, making them cushions. "Saw what coming?" He asked with a lazy smile on his face. Your lips separated and you stayed silent for a while before smiling widely. He was unsure of what your expressions meant. "That you're a cat person." He let out a short laugh, "is that a compliment or an insult?"

"It's cute, I don't know." You shrugged before sitting up, your arms now behind you as you leaned back. "You're a Cat Boy." He furrowed his brows in confusion, "I beg your pardon?" You just laughed it off and shrugged. "You haven't even answered my question yet." He brought up. "Oh, shit sorry. I'm here because a little shit decided to hop out of my reach and leave the classroom, almost getting me caught multiple times today." You hinted towards the kitten and that managed to make him smile a bit. "She's a handful, she's lucky she's cute." 

"So you've kept this little thing with you the whole day?" You nodded, "Midoriya found him on the hallway this morning and we tried looking for her mom but failed. We tried during breaks and lunch too." You explained as the kitten walked up towards you and nuzzled closely to your clothed calves. You picked the kitten up and nuzzled her face against yours, leaving a few kisses here and there. You quickly froze when you realized Shinsou was just watching you. You coughed and hid your face with your hand.

The adult cat walked back to the purple haired boy. He grabs the cat by her sides and lifts her up, swinging her around and playing with her. You looked at Shinsou playing with the cat as if you were being hypnotized. His eyes were a completely whole new universe, his smile, how his beautiful purple locks flowed with the wind. Your jaw almost dropped but you regained the sense of reality when he looked back at you.

You averted your eyes away from his, the kitten still in your arms. "Shouldn't you be worried about you getting caught for skipping classes?" He asked, filling up the silence between you two. Your eyes immediately widened as you stood up, "right, right, right - Fuck sorry, I lost track of time and -" Shinsou, who was still seated, looks up at you with his head slightly tilted. His gaze putting a trance on you.

Your cheeks reddened more and more. "I'm gonna go now.. bye," you waved awkwardly with a wide smile. Walking away slowly as you slapped both of your cheeks in hopes for them to stop getting red. "(Y/N)," he called you and you quickly turned to face him. It took him a while to say something, he was just looking at you with his lazy yet astonishing eyes.

He smiled lightly, "let's play with the cats together again."


	5. Competition

You and your class were gathered outside U.S.J. as the Pro Heroes and police officers entered the place. There were ambulances that took care of a few students who were injured. You stood beside Tsuyu, looking down at your trembling digits, clenching them tightly in frustration as you grit your teeth. She turned to look at you and pats your shoulder lightly, "we did our best, (Y/N)." You heaved a breath and loosened up a little, "easy for you to say. You saved our classmates and actually contributed like what a hero would do." 

"You helped too, I saw it." She tried to encourage you but you were a lost cause. The battle replayed in your head once again, reminding you of how big of a coward you were and a weakling. You remembered trying to help them fight off the villains but your power was useless and you didn't move at all. "For a girl with a strong Quirk, you don't put it to good use." You told yourself, feeling more and more let down as you fight off the tears that were close to breaking out of your eyes.

"(Y/N), you fought very well. You helped Jirou and I after all." Yaoyorozu gave you a reassuring smile. You looked down and heaved a breath, shrugging weakly. "If it weren't for you we would've been in much more danger. Thanks to your fast reflexes, we got out there quickly!" Kaminari joined in with the biggest smile on his face. You couldn't help but cheer up a little at their words of encouragement. "Uhh.. excuse me but where's Midoriya?" Uraraka and Iida asked one of the police officers. The man in uniform turned to the high schoolers and gave them a warm smile, "he's alright, he just needs to get checked in the hospital." 

"What about mr Aizawa?" You asked. "He was already sent to the hospital, don't worry. It'll take time for him to heal though." You and your classmates nodded sadly, looking at the orange sky as the sun was setting. "That was intense." 

Class 1-A went back inside the bus but unlike the ride that morning that was filled with cheers and excitement, everyone was silent and exhausted. No one was making a single noise as your bodies rested for the whole entire trip.

-

Everyone was seated on their rightful places, talking with their seatmates. Your body was feeling a lot better especially after the U.S.J. Incident. "Did you see the news?" You asked Mina and Tsuyu who both nodded at the same time. "Everyone's talking about it. Every social media platform I go to it's all about the U.S.J Incident." Sero joined in the conversation. Out of nowhere Iida ran in front of the classroom, "EVERYBODY HOMEROOM IS ABOUT TO START PLEASE GO BACK TO YOUR SEATS."

"We are on our seats, you're the one that's not." Iida sulked silently as he made his way to his desk while Uraraka comforted him from behind. "I wonder who our substitute teacher will be." Mina leaned back with her hands behind her head. "Mr Aizawa will be resting in the hospital for a while." Tsuyu replied. 

The doors to your classroom suddenly opened, eyes gathering at the figure.

"MR AIZAWA, YOU'RE BACK TOO SOON!" Everyone exclaimed loudly together. The man who was now resembled a mummy entered the classroom slowly. Iida raised his hand, "Sir are you okay?" He asked. "That looks okay to you?" Uraraka mumbled to herself.

"My well-being doesn't matter. More importantly, the fight is not over yet." Everyone's eyes widened and started looking at each other in shock. You looked at Mina with a discerned look as she shrugged back at you. 

"The U.A. sports festival is drawing near." Everyone gasped in excitement, making the classroom loud and cheery. "Wait is it even okay to hold this event so soon after the villains attacked?" Jirou asked. "What if they attack us again?" Ojiro added. "Apparently, they think of it as U.A. showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event. Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years." He paused and looked up, his eyes barely seen due to the bandages, "above all, ours sports festival is a huge chance. It not an event to be cancelled because of a few villains. Our sports festival is one of the biggest events in Japan." Aizawa continued.

"No aspiring heroes can afford to miss this event. If you understand that, then don't slack off on your preparations!" Everyone nodded, "yes, sir!"

"Homeroom is dismissed."

Time flew by so fast. Last time you remembered it was homeroom and now it was lunch break. Everyone went into groups and started talking about the upcoming sports festival. "(Y/N), are you excited for the sports festival?" Mina asked you while you stood up and stretched your arms. "Yup, I can't wait. This is too good of an opportunity to pass!" You both smiled at each other before laughing. 

You, Mina, and Tsuyu went to the cafeteria together. "We have 2 weeks left until the sports festival." You brought up and walked with your hands behind your back, thinking. "2 weeks is a lot but I'm sure it'll disappear faster than we think." Mina started kicking and punching the air, "then we better start training fast!" The three of you entered the cafeteria and as usual it was busy. 

The moment the three of you entered, students started looking at you three and whispered to one another. "Uhh.." you looked at Tsuyu and Mina to see if they noticed the sudden change of atmosphere as well. You made your way towards a vacant table and settled down with your friends, feeling eyes on you. "You guys see this too right?" You whispered to them. It only got worse when more of your classmates started entering the cafeteria.

"Is this because of U.S.J.?" Midoriya asked you as he walked towards your table. You shrugged, not having a clue either. 

Lunch break continued normally afterwards so your classmates no longer bothered paying attention to your surroundings. You had made eye contact with one of the students at the back as you put a spoonful of rice inside your mouth. The girl whispered to the guy beside her which made him look at you too before they left the cafeteria with their friends. "What the actual fuck." You thought while your eyes followed the group of individuals leave.

Afternoon classes went by even faster. "Maybe Tsuyu was right.. these 2 weeks will disappear before we know it." The last bell rings which makes everyone stand up to pack their things. "Today was fast." Kirishima said as he put his bag on. You nodded, "it's.. kind of a strange day too." 

Right when those words left your mouth Uraraka who was by the front door started making distressed noises causing everyone to look at her direction. You couldn't believe your eyes. A whole wave of students were waiting by the door, "we-we can't even pass." Uraraka's eyes were as wide as an owl's while Iida stepped front, "what business do you have with Class A?" He asked. "W-What did you come here for?" Midoriya stuttered, a frightened expression all over his face.

"They're scouting the enemy, dumbass." Bakugou walked past everyone and made his way towards the door. "We're the ones who made it out of the villains' attack." He added, finally in front of the crowd, "there's no point in doing stuff like that." He glared at the students that blocked his path.

"Out of my way, extras." Iida, Midoriya, and Uraraka started scolding him silently from the back, shaking their heads. "I came to see what the famous Class A was like." A voice from the very back of the crowd spoke out. You knew exactly who owned that voice right away.

A boy with purple haired moved past students, "but you seem pretty arrogant." He was at the very front now, facing Bakugou eye to eye. "Are the students in the hero course like this?" He asked, making Bakugou move his head up, eyes looking low at him, "eh?"

"Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned." He rubbed the back of his neck, "there are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. Did you know that?" His question made Bakugou growl lowly.

"The school has left those of us a chance. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course." Your classmates all looked each other with no words. You finally made eye contact with Shinsou, "and it seems they may also transfer people out." His eyes remained on you before looking at Bakugou once again.

"Scouting the enemy? I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you. I came with a declaration of war." He continued on with his speech before Bakugou left the classroom, the students outside forming a path for the heated boy. "What's his deal?" Everyone in the hallway started chattering amongst themselves while you were still confused as to what just happened.

You looked back at the opened door and saw that Shinsou was still there, but this time he was clearly looking right at you. His eyes were darker than ever; a completely different set compared to that you'd usually see. You weren't so sure if his speech was directed to you, but you knew for a fact it was for everyone in the hero course. Including you. 

This was a wake up call for you that no matter the occasion, everyone here is your opponent to be the best of the best. The crowd of students started decreasing as they all started walking back to their respective classrooms. "So that's why he's not in the hero course.." you thought to yourself, looking down at your opened hand.

"I won't lose to you."

\- 

A week and a half have passed which meant that there was only a few more days left until the sports festival. You train hard every after school, especially on weekends. Started from a basket filled with weights to now, sacks and sacks of rice. You worked hard day and night but also didn't overwork yourself too much. 

The last bell of the day rang and the first thing you did was stretch your arms up in the air as a yawn left your lips, getting teary eyed. "The sports festival is just a few days away.. I can feel the adrenaline!" Mina cheered loudly, hopping around the classroom with the biggest smile on her face before Kaminari and Kirishima started joining her shenanigans. They started chanting "Number 1" over and over again in a circle as if they were trying to summon something or someone.

You packed your things and placed them inside your bag. While on your feet, in your peripheral vision you had caught something purple outside of the window. The boy turned around and met your eyes, signaling you to come down and meet him there. Your eyes widened and looked behind you to see if he was talking to someone else before looking back at him again with a confused look on your face. You managed to get a smile out of him, waving his hand.

You took your bag and held it and was about to leave your classroom, "(Y/N), JOIN US!" Mina invited you into their circle. "I have to get going, maybe another time." You waved your friends goodbye and went to the back of the school. Looking around, there was no sight of the purpled hair boy.

You heaved a breath, "probably my imagination." You turned around but got started, causing you to jump. "And why would I be in your imagination?" Shinsou asked with a grin on his face. Your faces almost bumped into each other but you quickly dodged it. You clutched your chest, "don't fucking scare me like that, asshole." You pushed him playfully, making him laugh.

"Last time I saw you you were doing a speech about replacing one of us. What do you want?" You asked. Shinsou quirked a brow, "so you've been looking for me?" You rolled your eyes, "dream big, asshat." You looked away and folded your arms.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "just thought I'd walk you home." It took a while for his words to register in your head. Brows furrowed and eyes squinted, "what do I get out of this?" You joked. Shinsou shrugged, "a companion?" You looked at him with a blank look, trying to compete with his. Shinsou sighed, "let's go already."

You both started walking side to side, "what's the sudden occasion?" He looked up the pink and orange sky, "just felt like it since the sports festival is right around the corner. Wanted to check up on you just in case you passed out." 

While talking to Shinsou, you couldn't help but recall your first interaction with him. He was a completely different person, but maybe it was because of his mood at the time.

You took your bike out from the bicycle rack and walked with it beside you. "Do you even know where I live?" You asked him. He shook his head, "nope but I do know for a fact that you don't take the train." 

"How did y -" you stopped when you realized you were holding a bike, making him laugh. "During your speech yesterday.. I know it was directed to everyone in the hero course but," you paused for a second, making him pay more close attention. "- was it directed to me in any way at all?" You both stopped walking at the same time, eyeing him closely as he avert his eyes to the leaves falling. "Maybe." He shrugged it off shortly after, continuing to walk. 

"No matter where you go or where you are, you can't always trust everybody. Some times you can't even trust anyone." You looked at his expression and still, you couldn't read him that well. "We may be talking here and there, but that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you." He smiled lightly.

"So I'm just a placeholder?" He didn't answer and just laughed, making you gasp and shoot him an offended expression.

You two stopped walking once you both reached a certain point. "I'm heading this way." You pointed to a road while he nodded, "well, goodbye." Just when he was about to walk to the opposite directions you quickly called for his name. He turned around with raised brows, "good luck." You gave him a friendly smile. 

"It's you that needs the luck, let's be honest here." You gasped once again, landing a kick on his back, causing him to yell in pain. "Fuck off," he hissed, rubbing the part you had just kicked. "That's what you yet, asshole." You both finally wished your goodbyes and separated. 

You took a breath and got on your bike before cycling at the side of the road to head back home.


	6. Sports Festival

The day of the Sports Festival had finally come and everyone was preparing. This was no longer a group activity or a class activity. Everyone was on their own.The people whom you've never seen or heard before to the people you have classes with are now all our opponents. You got lost in your train of thought, trying to think of strategies to use during the challenges, Quirks you have to avoid fighting, and Quirks you can win against. It wasn't long until someone approached you.

"You good?" Kirishima asked, giving you a worried expression. You nodded, "just thinking about the games, don't worry about it." He nodded and walked away. You were glad that he checked up on you, that''s what you liked about this class so much. You've never had such close and kind classmates like them, but you also had to face the fact that you were competing with them all. Aizawa walked in the room, "the program is starting." 

You and your classmates exchanged the same smug looks to each other before walking out of the room. "I won't lose to you." 

-

You saw Todoroki in the very front, observing him closely as you knew his strategy. Just in time, he aimed his right hand behind him, causing ice to come out and froze the ground, getting peoples' feet stuck and making them unable to move. "A POWERFUL MOVE DONE BY TODOROKI SHOUTO OF CLASS 1-A!" Present Mic announced, screaming his lungs out while Aizawa just hummed in response. Most people from your class managed to read his attack and didn't fall for his trap.

You use your Quirk and started flying. You landed on your feet when you saw there were tons and tons of robots waiting. "Robots from the entrance exam." You thought and looked up at them. You looked behind you and noticed that people were starting to catch up, quickly you took a deep breath, aiming your hands at the head of the robot. You shut your eyes tightly when you felt the tension, trying to keep your composure. 

You opened your eyes and focused more, glaring at the robot almost. And just like that its head exploded, causing the whole thing to malfunction and blow up. You saw the other robots go down on their own way too, seeing that your classmates took them down as well. You started flying again, giving you a boost and surpassing a few people. 

After a short while it was finally the last obstacle. There were mines hidden underground, making it harder for people to go fast. You started hovering, passing a lot of students. While in the air, you were sent flying when Midoriya triggered a pile of landmines that he had piled up, making him go beyond Todoroki and Bakugou who were currently in first place. Midoriya ended up being first place while you were 9th.

You heaved a relieved breath, thankful that your Quirk came in handy in the first round. You saw Mina enter and you give her a high five, smiling at each other. "Look at you!" Your pink friend gave you the widest smile, nudging you. "You completely rocked this round. I saw what you did to those robots." You smiled shyly, rubbing your nape, "it was okay.." you felt proud of yourself knowing you managed to do those things without passing out or feeling like you've just been beaten up.

It was time for the second round which was the Chivalry Battle. Midnight explained the rules and regulations. Each group there must but 2-4 members. You decided to team up with Tsuyu and Shoji. "With (Y/N) with us, we can use her Quirk to get everyone's headbands." Tsuyu looked at you and Shoji. "It'll be easy then, won't it? (Y/N) just needs to get Midoriya's from the distance and we'll be good." Shoji looked at you and you nodded, "I can do those, but we need to defend immediately. If we use my Quirk right away and get everyone's headbands in the first minute, it'll be much difficult to use defense." 

"- since everyone will be targeting us now." Tsuyu finished and you nod to her. "So what do we do?" Shoji asked. You looked at the other teams and started planning a strategy to win. "We can cling onto Shoji's back and use him as a hideaway." Nodding, you give Tsuyu and Shoji a hopeful smile, "I have a plan."

You wrapped the headband around your head, tightening it. "Let's win this." The game starts and already everyone was attacking Midoriya's team. Shoji starts off by walking straight with his multiple arms spread up, shielding you and Tsuyu on his back. Through the gap in front, you can see where Shoji was heading and where your opponents were. There was 30 minutes in the clock, you were just waiting for the right moment to strike. 

Shoji walked passed a few people who were in a battle with one another, sneaking behind them, there was a perfect opening. You aimed your hand to the opponent's head and successfully stole their headband without them noticing. Right away, Shoji turns to a different direction and walks away as you wore the headband you had just claimed. "WAIT WHERE'S MY HEADBAND?" You heard the voice yell in the distance. "You lost it already?!"

Although your team was moving in a slower pace unlike the others, your plan was working perfectly. "SHOJI!" You screamed when you saw earphone jacks coming his way. He quickly blocked it with his forearm. "Uh oh," Tsuyu said and looked thru the gap seeing Hagakure's team blocking Shoji's path. "Where you think you're going?" She said with a very bad evil laugh. 

"Shoji," you looked down at him and he just nodded, "yes." And just like that you clung on Tsuyu who was clinging on Shoji. He suddenly jumped high, going over her team. Group of birds started flying to Shoji's direction, "Tsuyu." She looked up and swatted the birds away with her long frog tongue. Quickly, Shoji lowers his extra arms that were shielding you and Tsuyu before closing it immediately, successfully escaping them.

"What was that about -" Sato gasped loudly, "HAGAKURE WHERE'S YOUR HEADBAND?!" She started whining loudly while you wore her headband around your neck, a smirk on your face as you and Tsuyu did a high five. Your team now had 3 headbands and there was still 15 minutes left on the clock. "Should we try for Midoriya's?" Tsuyu asked but you shook your head, "his headband is on high demand right now, we'll swoop in on the very last second when he least expects it." 

"Just a question, you can technically get everyone's headbands at the same time right?" Shoji asked. "Well, right now my Quirk only activates when I can see what I'm trying to get." 

"You have a very powerful Quirk, (Y/N)." Tsuyu complimented you. You laughed shyly, "I'm trying to improve more and more." Shoji's sudden stop made you and Tsuyu lose your balance but didn't fall off his back. You and Tsuyu looked thru the gap to see what was happening and saw that you were stopped by another team. "Class A really do think they're slick and smart." An unfamiliar boy said with a cheeky look on his face.

"Do you know him, Tsuyu?" You asked while he just shook her head. "Monoma stop stalling time." One of his teammates whispered to him but he just laughed it off, "that's some Quirk you got there." You and Tsuyu gave each other the same clueless look. You didn't know what to expect since you had no idea what his Quirk was. "(Y/N)," Shoji called. 

You looked around though your look space was limited, trying to see if there was some sort of way out. "If you're trying to escape, it's not happening." The blond smirked. Your team's initial plan was to strike in the shadows since your attacks were limited compared to your defense. Just when Shoji was about to run to a different direction, one of his teammates blew out air thru their mouth, making a wall that had just blocked Shoji's path.

"I told you so." Your team was in trouble. Suddenly the blond was thrown in the air to where you and Tsuyu hid. "Tsuyu," she nodded and was about to attack him with her tongue but he grabbed it. He pulled onto her tongue, causing her to fly towards him. "TSUYU!" Shoji yelled. You were now exposed, Shoji's extra arms no longer shielding you. 

His tongue left his lips as it flew towards you. Your eyes widened, dodging it quick enough. Tsuyu kicked him by his torso, causing him to let go of her. Quickly, Shoji jumped and caught Tsuyu in his arms. "His Quirk.." Tsuyu hopped into Shoji's back beside you as he shields you two again. "His Quirk is copy." 

"How sure are you by that?" Shoji asked. "If he had that long tongue as a Quirk.. he would've used it from the beginning. So when he grabbed Tsuyu's tongue.." you looked back at them as they caught the blond in the air. "We need to get him away from you. If he copies your Quirk -"

"Then it's over for us." You finished. The blond chuckled, a smug look on his face as usual, "you're smarter than I thought."

"5 MINUTES LEFT!"

You tried using your Quirk on him but he held onto his headband tightly, restricting you. "I already know what your Quirk is, (Y/N). There's no point in trying."

"Just 5 more minutes.. if we manage to defend it enough, we'll get to the next round." Your team was caught in a corner as the opposing team was inching closer and closer towards yours. If you didn't move any time soon, your team would be doomed. "Shoji.." you said weakly, trying to stay calm. "Yeah?" You looked at Tsuyu, "I need you to jump above them again - jump as high as you can."

"What -" you cut him off, "trust me, Shoji." Tsuyu gives you an unsure look. "Hold on tightly." You told her. The team took steps closer and closer, "I'd give up if I were you. There's no point in trying anymore. Give us th-" Shoji crouched down for a second before jumping as high as he can. "TSUBURABA!" He yelled, making the brown haired boy in front blow upward, the air solidifying and blocking Shoji's way.

"Fuck -" he cussed, losing balance mid-air. You took deep breaths and aimed your hands downward, hovering over Shoji's back. His eyes widened when started flying, you squint your eyes, trying to see thru the gap. You saw a safe place to land and started maneuvering Shoji. You felt your limbs getting weaker and weaker, your ears ringing and your vision getting blurry.

Without realizing, you had slipped out of Shoji's back and was falling down. Your eyes started closing slowly, feeling the world around you spiraling. "WHAT'S THIS?! (Y/F/N) FROM CLASS 1-A HAS PASSED OUT AND IS FALLING FROM THE SKY." Present Mic said thru the speaks while everyone in the stadium were panicking and shocked. Shoji luckily landed on his feet before running to catch your unconscious body, Tsuyu still on his back. She stood up on Shoji's shoulders and grabbed your body with her tongue, pulling you back.

Bakugou who used his explosive hands to make him fly in the air, instantly grabbed all your headbands in one go, Sero dispensing tape from his elbow, pulls Bakugou as they made their way to Midoriya's team. Shoji held your unconscious body on his arms, your breathing stiff and short. Nurses came right away checking your pulses and condition. A man came in with a gurney and placed you on it as they dragged you inside.

-

You opened your eyes, vision was blurry at first but every thing was clear shortly after. You sat up quickly, looking around you. Recovery Girl saw you awake and stepped down her seat to approach you. "How are you, dearie?" She asked. "I - I'm feeling well." She grabbed a clipboard on a table and looked at it, "well you passed out during the second match and your body is fine." She explained. 

"How long was I out for?" She looked at the clock on the wall, "10 minutes." You let out a relieved breath, "so it's not that bad?" She nodded, "I have your old medical records and compared to the past, this is improvement." You were about to cheer until she cuts you off, "- but that doesn't mean this is entirely a good thing. How have your practices been?" 

"I practice every single day after school, but I sleep 8 hours every day and eat the proper amount of food and drink a lot of water." She nodded and gave you a polite smile, "well, that's good to hear. I'm glad you're looking out for yourself in the best way possible." You smiled back at her and heard the TV. You looked up and saw the results of the second round, your team with zero points. 

You cover your face with your hands, frustrated. "Your teammates dropped by a while ago but I told them you needed time to rest." You laid back down and heaved an angered breath, "I caused this. I failed them." You clenched your fists tightly, teeth gritting. "Since it's lunchtime, you are free to go to the cafeteria. I'm sure your friends are waiting for you worried." She gave you a slip, "make sure to hydrate and get plenty of sleep when you get home, okay?" You take the slip from her and give her a friendly smile, nodding.

You left her office and closed the door behind you. "Took you long enough." Shinsou was leaning back against the wall with his arms folded, approaching you. "Were you waiting for me the whole time?" You asked. "More or so. Knew you'd wake up in no time." You sighed, "I wanted to stay in her office longer." He raised his brows, "and why would you want that?"

"Because I don't want to face Shoji and Tsuyu right now. I'm ashamed and made your team lose. We could've.. gotten to the 3rd round if it weren't for me." He looked down and saw you clenching your fists, "if it makes you feel better they weren't upset at all." You looked at him with furrowed brows. "When you were falling down, Bakugou swooped right in and took all your headbands and they didn't seem bothered about that at all in my opinion." You were still confused until he started walking, "they were more relieved at the fact that they got to you in time and caught you."

"Either way you can't escape them, you're classmates." He looked back at you with his usual smile.

The two of you started walking to the cafeteria together. "I know it's random but.." you avert your eyes away from him, "thank you." You said shyly and avoided his eyes. He chuckled lightly, "what are you even thanking me for?" He placed his hands behind his head as he walked. "Although we aren't necessarily close or anything - we really only started talking this school year and you've been there for me."

You smiled at him lightly, he gives you a blank look before giving in and smiling back at you. You both arrived in the cafeteria, "good luck." He says before walking to a different direction leaving you all by yourself. You watched him walk away slowly before a group of people chanted your name loudly. 

Your eyes widened as you saw a few people from your class ran towards you. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be resting?" Questions were being thrown at your face but you couldn't help but give them a reassuring smile, "guys I'm really okay, I just passed out that's all." They all surrounded you, talking at the same time. "Guys (Y/N) probably hasn't eaten yet, let's not waste her time." Iida raised his voice.

Mina pulled you by the arm and led you to Tsuyu and Shoji who stood by together. You stopped in front of them and bowed, "I'm really sorry." The two exchanged confused looks, "it wasn't your fault you passed out." You stood up straight, rubbing your elbow as you avoided looking at the two of them, "well you both did great and we could've gotten in if it weren't for my stupid mistake."

Tsuyu playfully slapped your arm, "Shoji and I are just glad you're okay." You looked at the two and smiled slightly. "EAT." Iida yelled from behind, startling you. "W-Wait guys -" they pushed you to where the food was, "you might pass out again if you don't eat!" You couldn't help but laugh, "you guys are too worried."

Although you passed out, you couldn't help but be proud of yourself. You managed to let Shoji fly for more than a minute and your condition wasn't as bad as it used to. Slight improvements always motivated you to get better and better.

-

You took the vacant seat beside Tsuyu, waiting for the first match to start. "(Y/N), are you friends with that Shinsou Hitoshi guy?" She suddenly brought up. "Uhh, yeah why do you ask?" She turned her head to the center of the stadium, "the first match is Midoriya vs Shinsou which are both of your friends. Do you have someone you're rooting for specifically." You laughed nervously, "you always ask whatever is on your mind." You thought.

Ojiro took the seat beside you, "back already?" You asked. He nodded, "just had to warn Midoriya about Shinsou before his match started." He was silent for a while before turning his head to look at you, "you're friends with him, right?" You nodded slowly with a raised brow, "I guess so." You actually weren't sure what you and Shinsou were. Yeah, you both hangout some times, talk, but it was always different every time. You didn't even know if he considered you as a friend.

"Are you not afraid of him?" His sudden question caught you off guard. You looked at him in the eyes and that's when you realized he was being completely serious. "Well, I have known him since middle school.." you looked away. "What about in middle school then, were you ever afraid of him in any way?" You didn't reply and just started thinking. You tried to remember your first ever encounter with Shinsou back in middle school.

It was dismissal and you were in cleaning duty that day. Since you were in-charge, you had to stay the latest to check if your classmates did their task. You were putting their grades down on a notebook. The doors at the back of your classroom opened wide, startling you. The purple haired boy with tired eyes looked at you, no words leaving his mouth. You looked at the clock, wondering why he was still in school this late.

"Sorry for being late, you can mark me a zero if you want." He said and closed the door behind him. You gave him a confused look before you looked at the notebook, seeing his name at the very bottom. "Oh no worries, you can still clean if you want." You replied with. Shinsou glanced at the clock, "it's going to be noon soon, shouldn't you be heading back home?" He pointed at the clock.

You looked at the clock before looking back at him, "I don't mind, it's okay. Your task is to just clean the back part of the classroom anyway." He was stoic, not sure on what to say. Your eyes widened when you realized how silent the classroom got, "oh wait no sorry - I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I mean, if you're still willing to clean I wouldn't mind but if you're gonna skip then.."

"Are you really willing to wait or are you just saying that?" He said in a stern tone. You nodded, "why wouldn't I? This is your grade." You looked at him in the eye and he did the same, although his expression was usually hard to read, that was the first time you ever saw his eyes shine.

You came back into reality when Present Mic started asking if the crowd was ready for the first match to which they all started screaming. "GO MIDORIYA!" Your classmates yelled. Present Mic started saying their introductions as they walked in. "Let's all have a round of applause to Midoriya Izuku from Class A in the hero course." 

"And his opponent who is from the General Department - Shinshou Hitoshi from Class C." You watched the two in the middle, feeling nervous. "Who do you think is going to win, (Y/N)?" Tsuyu asked. You looked at the two facing each other, "if I had to be honest I know more about Midoriya's Quirk compared to Shinsou." You replied, your eyes not leaving the two. "I've only heard about Shinsou's Quirk ever since middle school. I don't even think I've seen him use it." The match starts and it seems like Shinsou was saying something to Midoriya.

You turned to the big screen and saw the sudden change of expression in Midoriya's face. "TAKE THAT BACK -" he froze, eyes turning completely white. Ojiro stood up from his seat, "I went thru all that trouble to warn him too." You were to fixated on the match to care about your surroundings. This was the first time you're witnessing his Quirk. Midoriya took a step back before turning around completely, walking the other direction as Shinsou had the smuggest look on his face.

"Midoriya no!" Uraraka was at the edge of her seat while Iida was on his feet. "What a strong Quirk.." you whispered to yourself. Midoriya was getting closer and closer to the white line that served as a barrier. Out of nowhere, he moved two of his fingers causing a mighty wind that stopped him from walking. He snapped out of it and was out of breath. The whole stadium started cheering loudly. 

It seemed like Shinsou kept trying to brainwash Midoriya again but failed. He started pushing the purple haired boy, attempting to eliminate him. Shinsou quickly landed a punch on his face causing his nose to bleed. The battle went on for a while until Midoriya grabbed him by his arm and lifted him up in the air before throwing him on the ground.

Midnight lifts her arm up, "Midoriya advances to round 2." The whole stadium got even louder. You looked at Shinsou who was still on the ground, an angered look on his face. The two met up in the middle again, "let's give them another round of applause." You stood up from your seat, "I'll be right back." You told your classmates and left. 

You walked down the steps and tried looking for him. Though it's still hard for you to understand the boy, you knew he needed company. "Excuse me have you seen a boy with purple hair, his whole face exposed, around.. this tall?" You tried explaining as best as you could. The hero smiled at you, "he just passed by, he went that way." You bowed and said thanks before running.

"Where could that guy be.." you looked around, slowing down your steps. A half opened door caught your attention. You walked up towards it and hesitated for a while if you should take a peek or not. A loud crash from the inside caught your attention, causing you to take a peek inside. Shinshou stood in the middle of the room, heavily breathing as his fists were clenched tightly. He had thrown a box filled with something across the room and now caused a big mess.

He stood up straight, "watching someone without their consent isn't very polite." You flinched, letting out a yelp. Even though his back was facing you, he still managed to know that you were there. You heaved a breath and entered the storage room, closing the door behind you. He leaned back against a pile of boxes with his arms folded, "and why are you here?"

"Just thought you needed some company after your match." You stood in front of him but with a certain distance, "are you okay?" You asked. He wasn't very amused and kept a straight face, not replying. You knew that no matter what you say or do, it wouldn't help the situation.

"(Y/N)," you looked at him with your eyebrows raised. He stopped leaning back on the boxes, looking at you with his deep and dark eyes. "Why are you not afraid of me?" You didn't respond at first since you were caught off guard. "Why?" He asked again but this time his voice managed to get deeper than it already was. You shook your head slowly, "why.. would I be?" 

"You're not afraid that I would just randomly brainwash you and make you do terrible things that it'll lead your reputation to being ruined?" He took steps closer and closer towards you, his eyes wide as an owl's as they looked down on you. "Are you not afraid of being brainwashed? What if I do that to you? What will you do?" His face got closer and closer to yours but you didn't move an inch.

"- because I know you well enough to know that you won't do it." You finally replied. "You really are a naive girl, aren't you? What makes you so sure that I won't just flip the switch and use my power on you one day?"

"Well if that does happen, it'll be out of my control. But right now, I know for a fact that you are not evil and you will never be. You're starting to believe what people have been telling you these past few years, and Shinsou," you held onto his shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile, looking up at him, "that's not you, okay?" 

"Don't listen to them. You might have been defeated, but that doesn't mean you should give up and listen to what people tell you. This is a small step to something big, I never doubted you once." Shinsou slowly collapses on you, head resting on your shoulder. Your eyes widened and held him, "Sh-Shinsou? Did you just pass out -"

"Thank you, (Y/N). Thank you.." he said softly and closed his eyes. You smiled lightly and rubbed his back lightly. "I'll always be here for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was kinda messy i'm so sorry for typos and grammatical errors that i didn't correct ^^


	7. Friends

Before you knew it, it was already the end of June. A week left until your final term test. Exams were right around the corner and everyone was working hard. While writing inside your notebook in your peripheral view, you can see Mina swaying left and right on her seat, trying to look for a comfortable position before letting out a grunt. "Can't focus?" You asked her and she nodded without hesitation, letting out a long whine.

She got on her knees beside you and started pleading, her hands together, "please (Y/N), I don't want to study." She cried out. You give her a glare, "now what did I tell you about slacking off? Did you not study last night like I told you to?" She looked away from you before crawling towards Uraraka, pointing at your direction, "URARAKA SAVE ME FROM THE DEMON (Y/N)." She cried out while you just grinned.

"I haven't studied a single bit." Kaminari let out a distressful noise from his mouth, pulling the roots of his hair in frustration. "You two, I may be able to be of assistance with the class lectures." Momo joined in, making Mina and Kaminari cheer loudly, "THANK YOU SO MUCH, YAO-MOMO." Jirou joined in not shortly after, asking for help as well. Soon enough, there were more people asking if they could join and they started planning for their group study.

You looked back at your notebook and resumed writing down your notes. "What do you got there, (Y/N)?" Tsuyu stood beside your desk and looked down at your opened notebook. "Oh," you put your hand away from it so she can get a better view, "it's actually notes for my Quirk. More like a journal but.."

"So just like Izuku's?" She lifts her eyebrows up and you nodded slightly, "in a way, yes." You looked down at it and without realizing started to smile, "I've been writing down my improvements and my weaknesses. It's a lot of work but the outcome gives me more and more motivation to improve my Quirk."

Although it was a slow process, you can see improvements every week that passes. "Have you tried making someone float yet?" She asked. You slowly shook your head, feeling disappointed as your left hand rubbed the back of your neck, "not yet." Tsuyu started looking around the classroom as if she was looking for something or someone. "Have you tried someone light? In the sports festival you managed to lift Shoji up after all, who's twice your twice."

You paused and started thinking to yourself. Shoji who's mostly made out of weight and muscles, you managed to make him float for a minute and was only out for less than 15 minutes. "I haven't tried that one yet.." you hummed and looked down at your notebook once again. Tsuyu slowly walked away and left you alone to think. She wasn't wrong. Still with most of your spirits crushed, you started having little droplets of hope. "I wonder.." 

* * *

The bell that signaled students that it was lunch break rang, making everyone get on their feet. With some still chattering, a few of your classmates left the classroom to head to the cafeteria. "(Y/N), you coming with us?" Uraraka asked, waving at your direction. You shook your head, "I'm good. I need to check something out in the library and got a few things to do anyway." Iida butts in the conversation and directs his hand towards you, "skipping meals is not suggested, it's bad for your stomach and health." He said in a bold tone, voice raised.

"I'm fine, Iida. I already ate during break a while ago and I'm still kinda full." Some of your friends gave you a doubtful look. Giving them a reassuring smile, "I'm fine guys. I take care of my health more than anyone, you know that." They all nodded and left the classroom. You grabbed your notebook and headed your way to the library.

Opening the door, you entered and looked for a vacant table to stay at. In the very corner, you sat down on a seat and put your notebook down on the circular table, flipping through it. You weren't lying to your friends when you told them that that library made you feel safe and secured. It gave you a completely different atmosphere.

Focusing on your notes, you started writing a new section. "Goals:" You labeled on the very top of the page before writing down whatever crossed your mind. You were too focused on writing that you didn't notice someone was watching over you. "What are you doing?" His deep and stern voice caught you off guard, making you lift your head up and meet his lazy and amethyst orbs eyeing you closely. 

"Just writing on my journal." You replied with and nodded at his direction as he gestured to the empty seat across you, sitting down. "Don't you eat lunch, Shinsou?" You asked. He nodded, "I don't really eat heavy meals. Anyways, shouldn't I be asking you that Ms Constantly-Passing-Out-Due-To-Exhaustion?" He fired at you with a smug look on his face. Chuckling, you leaned back and crossed your arms and legs, "I already ate a sandwich during break thank you very much. I'm still full from it."

"Maybe get that checked." He responded with and opened the book that he was holding. You looked at the cover of the book, trying to read it but his hand was blocking the title. He catches you and closes the book, showing you the title. "Project KTC." You read it and looked at him with your eyebrows raised. He took a breath, "it's a novel about these highschoolers trying to solve a crime. Pretty basic, but it passes me some time." He explained.

You nodded your head and let out a short laugh, turning your attention back on your notes. "What's so funny?" He was stoic, his brows furrowed. You smiled lightly and shook your head, "just didn't see you as a novel type of person. Not that it's a bad thing." You said softly, continuing to write down goals. He looks at you with a straight face but he didn't realize how long you were looking at him for. 

"Got something to say?" You asked the boy and lifted your head up to look at him. He quickly came back to reality and shook his head, "what are you writing any way?" He changed the topic right away, opening the book in his hands again and looked down on it. "It's a journal about my Quirk. I only started after the sports festival so there's not much content on it yet." He catches a glimpse of what you wrote and you quickly covered it with your arm.

He looks at you while you averted your eyes away from his, cheeks slightly tinted with a light shade of red. He didn't say a thing and just smiled lightly finally reading the book. Ever since the sports festival, you and Shinsou managed to get even closer. Although you both haven't properly hung out due to your different schedules, you both still kept in touch by exchanging small waves and smiles when passing by each other in campus.

"How are you doing, Shinsou?" Your sudden question caught the purpled hair boy off guard. "Like.. your Quirk and stuff. Have you been practicing?" Your eyes remained focused on your notebook, still writing while Shinsou looked over you. "Its been okay." He shrugged slowly. "What about exams? Have you studied so far?" He hummed, "only a few subjects though, haven't studied for everything."

You laughed nervously, "I'm kind of worried about the final exams." Two of his purple brows raised, "are you failing?" You shook your head quickly, "it's not that. We'll be having a written exam and a practical test. I don't know much details about it, but of course it involves using our Quirks which I'm nervous about the most." You stopped writing and closed your notebook, finally meeting his dark amethyst eyes.

"We need to at least pass the exams to go to the training camp and I want to go. I'll take any opportunity that'll make me improve my Quirk." You quickly stopped and bowed your head to Shinsou, "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound so.. selfish." He gives you a shocked and surprised look, "what?" His eyes widening a bit and a brow quirked.

You heaved a breath and grabbed your notebook, "I know how much you want to be in the hero course and didn't mean to gloat like that. I'm sorry," the boy shook his head at you lightly, a lazy smile perking up on the corner of his lips, "it's definitely okay, (Y/N). I didn't mind at all. I'm actually kind of proud of you." He said.

You looked at him in his amethyst eyes before snorting, "kind of?" A smirk managed to appear on his lips, shrugging lightly. Playfully you rolled your eyes at him and the bell rang. You both stood up from your seats at the same time and gathered your things, pulling your notebook towards your chest as you and Shinsou walked out the library together.

You both headed up the stairs which led to your classrooms. You looked at him with a surprised look as he was still walking beside you. Before you could speak up, he rubbed his nape lightly, "just thought I would walk you to your classroom." Your eyes don't leave his as words don't leave your lips. Smiling lightly, you nodded at him.

The more steps you both took came to realization that you haven't seen him near your classroom since his whole speech before the sports festival. Heck, you didn't even know how your classmates feel or think about him. "What do you think about my class?" You asked him out of the blue.

Caught off guard, he paused for a second. "If it's nothing school related, they're okay. But I'm still competing with them, that includes you." His eyes narrowed, trying to give you an intimidated look but you just laughed, making him smile wholeheartedly.

Stopping your tracks as you stood in front of the back door of your classroom, you waved him goodbye. He waves back and takes a step back, about to walk the other direction until you called his name causing him to stop. "Why'd you suddenly walk me to my classroom, huh?" You said it as a joke and he knew right away you were just teasing him.

"Been a while since we hung out just thought I would." Though he wasn't smiling as much as you were, you saw his beautiful amethyst eyes sparking, enough to keep your satisfied and content. You opened the door to your classroom and went back to your respective seat. 

* * *

The day before exams during dismissal time,

You packed your things and placed them inside your bag. Like last time, a glimpse of purple outside the window caught your attention. Putting your attention to the lavender haired male who stood there waiting for you to come down and meet up with him. He looks up and sends you a friendly wave, his half lidded eyes meeting yours. You hold your hand out, signalling him to wait for you for a bit before putting your bag on.

"Don't forget to study well for the exams tomorrow!" Iida said to the class and everyone replied to him with motivated yeses. You exited your classroom and ran down the stairs, making your way to where he waited for you. You haven't seen him since your last trip to the library. Seeing him standing by himself as he waited for you made you stop running.

Your eyes started observing him closely. He was looking up the sky while his foot was hovering over the grass, swaying it left and right gently while his arms were behind his back. His purple locks moved in harmony with the wind, it felt as if you were being hypnotized by his looks. In the corner of his eye he sees you just standing there with your lips agape.

Smiling lightly, "what are you zoning out there for?" His words snapped your back into reality, your cheeks turning red when you realized you were probably looking at him for too long. Your sudden reaction caused his smile to grow wider as he walked towards you. You slapped your cheeks lightly, trying to clear the redness away. "I'm sorry about that I just had a thought slip into my mind." 

"Well whatever that thought of yours was, was strong enough to make you freeze. What was it?" You avert your eyes away from his calmly, "you just looked peaceful." Still avoiding his eyes, you puffed up a bit. He noticed and couldn't help but smile at your honesty even though you seemed embarrassed.

You both moved on from the topic and started to leave school together. While Shinsou was explaining something, you couldn't help but get lost in his amethyst colored eyes. You always admired people's eyes although it sounded creepy and weird, you really loved looking at them. You always believed in the saying: "eyes are the window to the soul."

You couldn't get yourself to say it out loud but you knew for a fact that Shinsou had the prettiest eyes you've ever laid your eyes on. They were like candy to you, you couldn't get enough. His eyes were your eye candy.

"(Y/N)?" You blinked and snapped out of your thoughts that were consuming you each second that passed. "Yes?" He gives you a concerned look, a purple brow raised, "you've been zoning a lot today, are you -" your lips parted and you quickly nodded, "I'm okay! Don't worry about me." Shinsou doesn't say a word and gives you a doubtful look.

"Shinsou, I'm okay. Really, I am." He sighed, "fine, I believe you. But you do seem more distracted than usual, what's up?" You didn't say a word but just nodded slowly, accepting defeat. You didn't know the reason yourself.

"How's studying been for you? You got subjects you're struggling at?" You didn't answer him and just continued walking. "I don't think it's exams. Shinsou," he hummed in response when you called for his name.

"What.. did you think about me in middle school?" He thinks to himself for a while, confused as to why you were suddenly asking a random question but he shrugs it off. "Well we didn't really talk now, did we?" You nodded, "I'm well aware, but.. did you have any thoughts about me at all? Like.. my Quirk for example."

He looked around, trying to think of something from the back of his head but nothing seemed to come up. "It's stupid, I know. I just couldn't help but remember what I told you during the sports festival. Sorry to dwell on the past so much.." you forced out a soft chuckle awkwardly.

Shinsou nodded, "so you're basically asking me about my opinion about you during middle school?" He looked at you while your eyes remained in front, paying attention to where you were going. "Well since we barely interacted.. my words are very limited." It took him a while to say something.

"I always knew you were a hard worker truth be told. Yeah, you probably get that a lot but.. you never gave up and never backed down from a fight. Well, we did have one interaction.." you finally looked back at him and met his eyes before he let out a chuckle, smiling sheepishly. "It was about to be noon and I had just entered the classroom."

He stretched his arms and let them rest behind his head, "you were still in the classroom even though the school was practically empty at that time. It was just us and.. you offered to wait for me to finish my cleaning duty." Shinsou gets silent and was about to drift off in his thoughts until he shook his head.

"You probably don't remember that, my bad." You shook your head, "I actually still do." Shinsou let out a groan before chuckling, "was that really our only interaction ever? Weren't we classmates for 2 whole years?" 

Before you and Shinsou knew it, the sun was already setting. Whenever you're accompanied by each other, it seems as if time passes by twice as fast than usual. "Hey Shinsou," you called for his name with a smile still on your face. You suddenly block his way and stood right in front of him, "thank you for being my friend!" You said to him with the biggest smile on your face, your eyes shut as you giggled.

You didn't see it but his eyes that were usually half lidded, were shot wide open as he felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of your bright smile that shined brighter than the sun itself. His lips parted and you completely caught him off guard. It felt as if time stopped. The sun's rays made your skin shine, your hair flowing in harmony with the wind, and your smile.. 

You finally opened your eyes and looked at Shinsou who just smiled softly at you. "Thank you for being my friend as well."


	8. Practical Exam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lot of time skips in this chapter to make it somewhat longer, i'm sorry in advanced.

Days have passed and it was already your last day of exams. Writing the answers down on your exam paper as your ears focused on the sound of the clock ticking slowly, a sigh of relief left your lips when you finished the test. You dropped your pencil down and started reviewing your answers, your eyes scanning through your paper. Aizawa was in front of the classroom, looking down at his students as they took their last written exam of the semester.

The bell rings, startling a few of your classmates as they flinched. "Time's up, pass your papers forward. Late papers will not be accepted." You took Tsuyu's paper and stacked yours on top of hers, passing it to Sero who sat in front of you. Aizawa gathers everyone's papers, "it's your lunch break. Please be back before the bell rings to take your practical exam." Everyone replied to him and he leaves the classroom.

You stretched your arms in the air, yawning shortly after. "(Y/N), what was your answer in Test VI, number 3?" Tsuyu poked your back. You turned around to look at her, "hmm.. I think I put 74.8mm." Before Tsuyu could reply, Mina fell off her chair and landed on her knees as she let out a dramatic yell, both of her opened hands in the air as you saw tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"I WROTE 71.9MM!" She covered her entire face in shame as she whined. Kaminari, who looked like he was as destroyed as Mina, just laughed weakly, "I didn't even have an answer." He was paler than ever and it looked like his soul just left his body completely. "I'm sorry I failed you guys.." Momo said in a sad tone, clutching her chest in pain. "Momo it's not your fault." They quickly told her, showering her with comfort.

"Don't worry too much, we still have that practical exam." You said to them which caused them to freeze. "You're right." Next thing you knew it they were all dancing happily together holding hands with the biggest smiles on their faces as if they had forgotten what had just happened. Heaving a breath while a small smile was plastered on your lips as you watched them rejoicing your words.

"You're not nervous about the exam, (Y/N)?" You shook your head at Jirou, "well I'm more excited to be honest. I've improved a lot and I want to see how it goes." You looked down at your palm before clenching it close, your smile getting wider. "Whatever challenge they have for us, I'm ready for it."

It was lunch time and you were eating your food in peace. "What do you think will the exam be?" Momo asked, rubbing her chin as she looked down at her food without eating. "Probably something cool!" Mina replied with, chomping down her lunch as if she was a vacuum cleaner. "You're gonna choke if you continue that."

She laughs at your remarks before coughing, making you sigh. "You never listen to me." You said as you push a glass of water towards her while rubbing her back. She chugged it down and slammed the now empty glass on the table, catching her breath. "T-Thanks (Y/N)." Mina gives you a thumbs up, still out of breath.

* * *

You and your classmates stood in front of U.A.'s teachers. "Do any of you have any clue on what your exercise test is?" Aizawa asked all of you. "We will be fighting robots!" Kaminari and Mina said in sync with passion burning in their eyes. Mr. Principal jumps out of Aizawa's scarf, "incorrect. You will not be having a battle simulation against robots for your practical exam."

"Since the recent surge of villains has caused the school to increase the quality of their training methods in order to increase the students' battle experience; from now on, U.A. students will be having battle simulations similar to real life battles; Class 1-A will be the first students who will have real-life battle simulations. You will be performing in pairs will face one of the U.A. teachers in combat." Everyone gave each other confused looks.

"To succeed you must either handcuff your assigned teachers or one of you must escape the battlefield. The two optional win conditions must be accomplished within 30 minutes. By accomplishing one of the win conditions, the pair will win and pass." 

"Kaminari and Mina," Aizawa calls them and makes the two flinch. "You will be facing the principal. Aoyama and Uraraka, you'll be going against Thirteen. Kyouka and Koji, yours will be Present Mic." He started calling people more and more, making your heart pound faster and faster. "(L/N) and Hanta, you both will be facing Midnight." You and Sero lock eyes before nodding at each other.

"Did everyone catch that?" Class A replied with yeses. "Ah~ I can't wait." The principal cheered and jumped, landing on Aizawa's shoulder. "Kaminari and Mina, please start preparing. You two will be the first performers. Everyone else, feel free to watch or meet up with your pair."

Some walked in the building to spectate while the rest met up with their pairs and went somewhere on their own. "We're grouped together again, I see." Sero said and smiled, you smiled back at him. "What do you want to do?" You asked the taller figure. "We should try to plan and strategize something." You nodded your head and went to an open area with him.

"Before anything, I would like to ask something." He raises a brow at you waiting for you to finish. "Do we fight or flight?" Sero looks at the sky and starts thinking to himself. "With our Quirks, they both work better in long distance attacks which works in a way since Midnight specializes in close attacks." 

"So what do we do?" He asked. "As much as I want to fight, flight is the better option." You both went quiet until your heaved out a breath and leaned your head back in frustration. "I forgot about her whip. She can do long distance." You looked at Sero who had a promising look on his face, "then we might just have to dodge it in the best way possible."

You nodded at his words, "alright I think I have a plan."

* * *

Compared to the other venues, yours was at an open area. You and Sero nod at each other before putting on your helmets. "Your time starts.." you both went on your own stances waiting for the cue. "NOW." The bell rang and you and your pair started running; either looking for where the exit was or where Midnight was. Your eyes wandered around the rocky place, checking if Midnight was hiding anywhere.

While running, Sero turns back to look at you and suddenly screamed your name out loud. Your eyes widened, not knowing what was happening. Quickly, he dispensed tape out of his elbows, wrapping it around your waist as he sends you flying in the air. While in air, you quickly used your Quirk and managed to make yourself hover in the air.

"Sero behind y-" Midnight touched the sides of his helmet which caused it to open, revealing his face as her Quirk activates. A cloud of pink smoke started emitting from her body, causing his lids to get heavy and pass out on her arms. Still in the air, you could see the exit gate. "Oh no you don't." Midnight swings her whip towards you but you quickly retreated, landing on your feet. 

"Oh (Y/N) why don't you just make yourself fly and leave Sero behind?" You could hear her voice from the distance, taunting you. "It would be easier that way, wouldn't it?" Still not replying to her, you decided to hide behind the huge rocks. 

Midnight with her whip on her hand, started walking around looking for you. "You can't hide forever~." She continues to taunt you. Midnight stopped her tracks once she heard something from the distance. It sounded like a pebble rolling. An evil grin was plastered on her lips as she turned around and grabbed you by the neck, choking you as your feet dangled.

"What kind of sad attempt of a sneak attack was that, (Y/N)?" She snickered. Your hands rested on her wrist, trying to push her arm away. "And here I thought you were smarter than that. Such a shame that your beauty went to waste." Her fingers stroked the front of your helmet before moving to the side of it, about to press the button that opened it.

"That's when you're wrong, Midnight." You said in a shaky voice, trying to catch your breath. "Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" Forcing out a chuckle, "you see, you're the one wrapped around my finger right now." Her brows knitted and started glaring at you. 

Quickly, you handcuffed her hand that was still choking you, using your Quirk on her whip and wrapped it around her body causing her to drop you and you quickly got on your knee, swinging your foot from the back of her feet to make her fall. Twisting her around, you handcuffed her other arm as well. You had her pinned down against the ground, catching your breath as you rested your knee on her back

The bell rang, "Team (Y/N) and Sero have passed!" Catching your breath, you stood up and walked towards Sero's still unconscious body. Although your last minute plan came together and you passed, this unsatisfying feeling inside you lingered. "Shouldn't you be happy you passed?" Midnight asked, noticing your gloom.

"I am but.. I thought I could do better. Perform better." You looked at your stable hand, "I didn't get to use my Quirk the way I wanted to." Turning away from Midnight, her whip that was still wrapped around her loosened as you made your way towards Sero. 

Heaving a breath, you started walking towards the Escape Gate with him. Midnight's sudden gasp caught your attention. "(Y/N)," she stuttered at amazement. You turned to look at her with raised brows and followed where her eyes were. Soon after your eyes widened in amazement too, seeing Sero's sleeping body hovering in mid-air behind you.

* * *

The next day passed and it was homeroom. Aizawa was in front explaining the training camp to your class. "Some of you have failed and as a result, all of them are going to the forest lodge. Consequences for those that failed the practical test were a logical ruse to bring out their full potential." Denki, Eijiro, Rikido, and Mina's were shocked but said nothing. "No one failed the written exam test but Denki, Eijiro, Rikido, Mina and Hanta failed the practical test."

"The forest lodge trip is a boot camp and those who failed the practical test will receive harsher training at the lodge. Sero, you will join them." His eyes widened before sighing, "it's only fair." Aizawa started handing out lodge guides. 

During break your class decided to head to the mall the following day together to buy things you guys didn't have for the trip.

"Are you coming Bakugou?" Kirishima asked his blond friend who just clicked his tongue at him, walking past the red head with an irritated tone on his voice, "I'm not going to waste my time on you chumps." He left the classroom and soon after Todoroki did the same.

You looked at the list from top to bottom. "You coming tomorrow, (Y/N)?" You nodded at Momo, "I still have to ask permission from my mom though, but I'm sure she'll be okay with it." You quickly shrugged it off and placed the lodge guide inside your bag. "I can't wait for the camp." Mina, with burning passion exuding from her eyes as usual, smiled widely.

"Did you forget that you'll need to work extra hard compared to the rest?" Your reminder made her shoulder droop forward as fake tears formed in the corner of her eyes, "you're the devil." She sniffled as you grabbed her by the back of her neck, pulling her closer to you as you ruffled her hair violently causing an outburst of laughs to leave her lips. 

Although it seems like you and Mina have a love-hate relationship, you two were stuck to each other like glue and she was like a younger sister you've never had.

The class started planning for the next day afterwards, settling on the time, who is and isn't going, carpool, everything.

While walking home alone, you started thinking about your performance during the practical exam. Every thing you said to Midnight was indeed true; from your plan that was risky to when you told her you weren't satisfied with your performance.

Yes, you knew that sneak attack wasn't going to work so you did it any way knowing Midnight would take the bait. Before attacking from behind you were hesitating if it'll even work since she could simply just use her Quirk and remove your helmet, knocking you out with her fragrance that can make just anyone pass out. 

Still, you wanted to use your Quirk more after all you've done nothing but improve every week. When you finally said your goodbyes to her, unconsciously, you had made Sero's body hover towards you as you were leaving the battlefield. 

You didn't feel numbness, dizziness, or anything at all. You were completely fine. This was the most successful attempt yet. You remembered entering the main room where most of your classmates were and they all immediately gathered around you to congratulate you. 

"(Y/N) I thought you could only let things float or move when your hands are aiming at them?" Momo asked you in a fascinates tone, her eyes wide and eyebrows raised. You laughed sheepishly, "I-I thought so too." You didn't expect this much attention after your exam. Everyone was practically asking multiple questions at once at you and you didn't know how to act.

Someone had pulled you back with your knapsack making you almost fall on your back but you were stopped by something firm. You turned your head slowly to check what was behind you. Tired lidded eyes looked down on you his hand letting go of your bag as he took a step back from you.

"What was that for?" You didn't mean for your words to sound that aggressive. Shinsou without saying any thing, points his pointer finger to your front. You followed his finger and noticed that you had almost ran into a lamp post. Embarrassed, you quickly bowed to him and apologized.

"It's alright," his voice was stern as ever. Finally regaining your composure, you looked at him with a raised brow, "were you following me?" 

The indigo haired boy shook his head, "I just finished training and just came out of school. Do you walk that slow?" He changed the topic. You huffed out air thru your nose, putting a hand on your hips, "I'll have you know, I don't walk that slow." 

He leaned forward towards you, in your eye level as he placed his index on your forehead, pushing it gently, "seems like some thing is on your mind again. What is it this time?"

You shook your head with a teasing smile on your face, "I'm not telling you." Shinsou, who was still on your eye level, finally stood up straight, sighing as a faint smile appeared on the edge of his lips. "What am I going to do with you."

"(Y/N)!" A familiar voice yelled from behind which caused you and Shinsou to freeze. Turning around slowly, you saw Mina running quickly towards you. "M-Mina -" she tackled you with a hug, pulling you close to her. Due to her sudden hug attack, your hands had slipped their grasp off from your bike but luckily Shinsou quickly got to it before it fell on the ground as he heaved a relieved breath.

You still weren't sure what was happening so you just stood there awkwardly as she had her arms wrapped around you. "What's with the sudden hug?" You asked with a raised brow. Shinsou averted his eyes away from the both of you as he felt Mina staring at him while you didn't know what was happening.

She pulls away finally but her arms remained on your shoulders. "Make sure to text me later, alright? And tomorrow when you arrive at the mall." She said to you while her eyes remained on Shinsou who was behind you. Nodding slowly, "s-sure.." 

Quickly, she let's go of you and waves you goodbye fast before running back to Jirou who was waiting for her all the way from the Gate. You rubbed on your shoulder, your mind processing what just happened. 

"If you mind me asking, what's happening tomorrow?" He brought up. "Oh right, well we'll be attending a training camp and sir Aizawa gave us this list of things we need in camp. My class decided to just go shopping together because why not." You were going to get your bike from him but he pulls it back, shaking his head.

"I got it handled, Shinsou." He brushes your words off easily and goes back to the topic, "how long will the camp be?" 

"A week long, I think." You both started walking together on the same route you two always took. "So no one's going to bother me for the next week or so? Bummer." You let out a laugh at his words and landed a playful punch on his shoulder, "you better savor every second."

"Oh, that reminds me." He took out his phone from his back pocket and unlocked it with a pin code. He handed it to you and you took it with raised brows. "I haven't asked for your number yet." You scoffed, "aren't you the same guy that just said you were glad that no one's going to bother you?" 

He clicked his tongue multiple times as he moved his pointer finger left and right, shaking his head as he does, "I said no one is going to bother me for the next few days, I didn't say I was bothered by it." You smiled lightly before typing down your phone number.

"And.. done." You handed his phone back as he placed it back inside his pocket. Taking out your phone as well, you handed it to him and he did the same. 

"Text me when some thing interesting happens." He said to you, handing you over your bike. You took it from him and nodded, "hey Shinsou," with his purple brows raised, he looks at you with his usual half lidded and lazy eyes. 

"Don't miss me too much, alright?" Smiling lightly, he placed his hand on your head and ruffled your hair lightly, "I think you're the one who's going to miss me most, squirt." Landing a punch on his chest area makes him let out a laugh. 

"See you." He smiled back, "see you."


	9. Secrets

You arrived at the mall and started looking around. Mina texted you this morning saying that everyone will be meeting up in the fountain area. "(Y/N)!" You turned around and saw that Jirou had just arrived. You send her a friendly wave as she catches up to you. 

"You just arrived?" She asked. You nodded, "I was just about to head to the fountain." You and Jirou started walking together and talked about the camping trip that's happening on Monday. "Can't believe we just ended the first semester. It feels like we've just started school like yesterday." You chuckled lightly, "I agree even though we've gone through so much already and we're still on our first year of high school." 

"From the league of legends to the practical exam we had to face against U.A.'s teachers. Feels like everything happened so fast." You both started reminiscing all the events that happened in the last few months. A few of your classmates saw you and Jirou walking together and started waving at your direction. Waving back, you and Jirou started walking a bit faster.

"Is everyone here now?" Uraraka asked which makes Iida stand up and count everyone. "Todoroki and Bakugou aren't coming." Kirishima reminded them. "Then I guess we're complete now. Well, what's the plan now?"

Everyone started looking at your classes' direction and whispered. "Aren't those the students from U.A.'s Sports Festival?" You can hear one of the ladies passing by whispering to her friends but it was enough for you to hear. You made eye contact with one of them which caused them to walk faster. "I saw them on TV!" A group of boys that looked like they were the same age as you started chanting, "sports festival, yay!" Loudly, causing more people to look at your classes direction.

"We'll just split up, everyone meet back here in 3 hours. Got it?" Everyone replied with in sync yeses to Iida who immediately bolted away. You decided to go with Tsuyu, Mina, Momo, and Jirou while Toru went with another group. "Where should we go to first?" Momo asked as her eyes look around the big mall.

"Arcad -" slapping the back of Mina's head, "after you buy all your necessities." You scolded her. "What about you (Y/N)? What do you need to buy?" You looked at the list in your hands, "not much actually. I just need sunscreen and bug spray." 

"Let's go to the department store." Tsuyu suggested and made everyone nod. While walking, your phone made a 'ding' sound. Digging it out of your pocket, you checked what the notification.

**Shinsou**  
_saw this cat on my backyard, just thought i would share with you._

Under his message he sent an attachment which was a photo of a tabby cat on its back looking up at the camera while Shinsou's hand was on their belly. Without realizing, you let out a faint "aww" sound before replying to him,

**You**  
_they're so cute!! :0_

Putting your phone back inside your pocket and you looked up at your friends who gave you the same expression. With a quirked brow, "yes?" You smiled awkwardly at them, feeling the pressure as all their eyes were on you and only you. "Y'know (Y/N), it kind of upsets me in a way." 

Your eyes widened, confused as ever. "W-What are you talking about -" 

"You know exactly what we're talking about." Mina blocks your path and stood there in front of you. She held your shoulders which startles you a little, cold sweat dripping down your body. The suspense was killing you.

Your pink friend started shaking you back and forth, "when are you going to tell us that you and Shinsou are dating." You didn't react to her words as she continued to shake you. Your brows were raised and you felt a mass of confusion hit you like a train. Landing a karate chop on her stomach makes her stop shaking you, "IS THAT ALL?" 

"So you two are dating." Tsuyu joined in but you quickly shook your head. "We're just friends really. I was more scared about the fact that I did something wrong and you guys hated me for something that I did." Heaving a breath as you rubbed your head in frustration, "don't scare me like that."

"But you two - you two always walk home together." You made an 'x' with your arms, "not always. We have our own lives too." You shut it down instantly. "B-But what about you going to the library and whenever we check up on you you're always with him -" you shrugged your shoulders as your head tilted slightly, "I wasn't lying when I told you guys in the locker room that I enjoyed visiting the library. He just happens to be there as well."

"B-But you two almost kissed yesterday!" You paused and tried to remember what happened. "Is that you why you suddenly came running to me?" You looked at Mina as she started to laugh nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. You heaved a breath, "we weren't kissing or wasn't planning to." You then remembered him leaning forward to get to your eye level as he pressed his index finger against your forehead.

"And I thought best friends tell each other everything." Mina started to fake cry as usual but you just rolled your eyes. "Shinsou and I are just friends. We haven't even been hanging out as much because we're both busy in our own way. And if something were to happen, I assure you that you'd be the first one to know." You held Mina by her arm and squeezed it tightly, giving her a light smile.

Jirou sighed, "you two might not be dating but you two sure do act like you're main characters of a romantic movie." Their words didn't bother or hit you at all. You've always had a lot of guy friends growing up so being friends with Shinsou wasn't particularly unfamiliar and new to you. You do have two brothers, younger and older.

Not only that but you were also called out for that. Being friends with boys as a child you were always being made fun of by the other girls calling you names like flirt, cock blocker, and even got as far to being called a slut and a whore. You minded it for a while, staying quiet as usual to not cause any trouble which is why you grew up to have thicker skin when it comes to people calling you names. This wasn't new to you.

Your friends finally dropped the topic and started shopping. You helped each other decide on which brand was better, which and what to get, etc.

* * *

"I'm home." You said as you closed the door behind you and took your shoes off. Your mom, who was in the kitchen preparing dinner, looks over at you as you used your Quirk to make the paper bags float, placing them on the coffee table. "Was shopping with friends a success?" She asked. You nodded before plopping on the couch, a breath leaving your lips as you do. "It was okay, I had a lot of fun though."

You twist your body around and looked up the ceiling. "I'm so happy for you, dear." You raised a brow and smiled faintly, "why would you be so proud of me for having fun, mom?" Smiling lightly, she shook her head as she stirred the soup clockwise with a wooden spoon, "ever since you attended U.A. you've just been working hard and you seem happier."

Turning to your side to look at your mom, the side of your face resting on the palm of your hand. "In middle school when you were instructed by the doctor to not use your Quirk for a while, you've always come home with sadness in your eyes. No matter how hard you tried to hide it, I could see the hurt in you. Of course, I didn't force you to tell me what happened and waited for you to open up to me yourself." You looked at your mom whose back was facing you.

"You've always had a lot of friend growing up and you didn't find it difficult to make any, but you never really opened up to them like the way you do now." Still not saying a word, you continued to listen to your mom. "But now I can't help but be happy for you. You're studying well, your grades are good, and you've just been working harder and harder." She paused when she quickly sniffled, feeling tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

She smiled, "And now you're surrounded by people who love and support you." Your mom gets startled when she felt arms wrap around her waist. You hugged her tightly but enough for her to breathe, resting your head on her back as you closed your eyes to comfort her. Tears started flowing down her cheeks as she sniffled, "your happiness and just makes me happy, (Y/N)." Her broken voice made your chest hurt.

You let her go and grab tissues, handing them to her with a cheerful smile. "I won't disappoint you, mom." You and your mom hugged one last time before you carried your bags inside your room, taking out a bag to place your clothes and things in for the camp next week.

_ding!_

Getting up from the ground, you grabbed your phone that was on your bed and read the text messages you got.

**Shinsou**  
_how was the mall?_

**You**  
_it went well! bought more things than i needed to but i had a lot of fun!_

You sat down on the ground and leaned back against your bed, looking at the chat bubble beside Shinsou's icon that meant he was typing.

**Shinou**  
_sounds like it_

You and Shinsou don't chat all day and night, it was like your interactions in real life. You two don't hangout all day and just spend a few moments together. Not only that but it wasn't like you two were hanging out every single day, you both had your own things to do.

**You**  
_where's the little cat you sent a while ago?_

**Shinsou**  
_i let them go since they already had a collar. she left shortly after i took the pic anyway_

**You**  
_do you even have a cat of your own or do you just collect them in your backyard?_

**Shinsou**  
_i have you know, i have two and they're the best cats to exist._

Under this message he attached two photos. One was of a cat laying on its stomach. Its fur was fluffy and white, eyes were two different colors: other being yellow and the other blue. In the second photo it was a darker cat which had white spots on its fur, sitting on what you assumed was his bed. Smiling at the images, you saved them on your phone out of instinct. 

**Shinsou**  
_first pic is Snow, she's female. although she's cute, she won't hesitate to bite you. second pic is Haru, i've had her the longest. you'd expect her to be the bitch but she's the more approachable one._

**You**  
_THEY'RE SO CUTE I WOULD DIE FOR THEM_

He sends another photo and it was Snow glaring at the camera.

**Shinsou**  
_she said "then perish"_

You let out a giggle, replying to him shortly after. Your conversation with him continues for a few more minutes.

**Shinsou**  
_sorry, i gtg i got chores to do ttys_

**You**  
_alrighty_

You turned your phone off and finally started packing your things. Your trip was in 2 days and your excitement got the best of you that you're packing right away. Picking out clothes to bring and putting the things you've bought at the mall from a while ago in the bag as well. The camp was a week long and you knew you couldn't waste time especially right after making Sero's unconscious body hover in the air without using your hand to control it or even knowing you were doing it.

You haven't tested it out yet so you weren't even sure if that was just a fling or an accident. Nonetheless, if you could do it, you could do it again. You remembered your talk with your mom a while ago, "I won't let you down." You thought to yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a little note: during internship, y/n decided to join midnight's hero agency and for her hero name it will be Psychokinesis (another word for Telekinesis which is her Quirk) just to make things clear since i skipped that arc.


	10. Heights Alliance

Your body was numb. You couldn't move, or.. you refused to. You couldn't remember the last time you went outside after the attack in the training camp. It all played out in your head every second of the day. 24/7 nonstop. The guilt feeling you felt never left your body. You felt useless as ever. You haven't felt these pent-up emotion in a long time. You forgot how painful and agonizing it is.

You heard a gentle knock on your door but you didn't move an inch. You heard the door creak silently, "(Y/N), lunch is ready." Your older brother said with his head peeking inside your dark room. You just hummed, "not hungry.." your back was facing him and he just heaved a breath, "you have to eat once in a while. It's not healthy for you." Before he leaves your room he paused, "I'll be out and Daiso will be out too, he has baseball practice." No response from you.

"Mom is worried sick about you. Please do confront her today." He closed your door and left you alone after. You pulled your blanket all the way to your face, now covering your whole body. You just shut your eyes and tried to sleep it off and as always, it only failed.

_It all started so well. Everyone was happy, was having fun, and improving. Especially you._

_"May I ask you to do something?" Aizawa asked you with his dark and half lidded eyes. You nodded slowly, "sure, what will it be?" You weren't showing it but you were indeed nervous. "I was going to give you this challenge instead of the boulder one, but can you try using your Quirk on Sato?" You didn't respond for a while and just looked at Sato who was behind Aizawa, devouring an entire cake._

_"Would've made you do this from the beginning but everyone had their own thing to do. What about you? Are you okay with doing this?" His voice was monotone as usual, his hair ever so slightly hiding his facial features. Nodding, "I'm okay with anything, sir." He calls Sato over and explained to him what was happening while you stood there waiting for his cue._

_Sato made his way on top of the rocky mountain where you placed the boulders at. "If you start feeling dizzy or weak, quickly stop." Aizawa instructed. The word **'weak'** was echoing inside your head over and over again but you nod at him. Rubbing your hands together as you took deep and calming breaths. "Imagine Sato as someone who's stuck in a burning building and their only escape is for them to jump. Your task is to catch the citizen and make sure they don't fall to their death. Are you ready?" Taking your last few breaths, you nodded at Aizawa once more before he raises his hand up to signal Sato from above. He walked backwards trying to get a head start before running off the mountain, falling down. All of your classmates stopped what they were doing and put all their attention on you and Sato falling down the mountain._

_Bending your knees a little as you looked up at Sato, aiming your hands at him before using your Quirk. He started slowing down slightly putting you on ease until he started falling faster. Eyes widened, you started to panic. "(Y/N), take deep breath and calm down." Your heart started racing, it felt as if it was about to burst out of your chest and explode all your insides._

_Sato was getting closer and closer to the ground making Aizawa and the other teachers there on the edge of their seats. Your classmates started panicking silently, feeling the pressure you were in. You started running to where Sato's body was going to land, shocking everyone there. "(L/N), what are you do -"_

_"Have faith in me." You cut Aizawa off and shut your eyes, putting pressure on your hands before looking up at Sato. Just a feet away from landing on you, he hovered in the air. Most of your classmates started cheering for you loudly while others were left speechless. Taking a few steps back as you gave room for Sato to land, placing him on his feet before you drop your hands, choking up on your spit and started coughing._

_"That was so cool, (Y/N). You almost had me there for a second." Sato compliments you and gives you a pat in the back, walking back to his station when Aizawa was approaching you. You stood up straight and looked at your teacher. "How are you feeling?" He asked. A smile appearing on your face, "I feel great."_

Your fists started clenching tightly as they held the edge of the blanket that you were holding. Everything was going well until the League of Villains attacked. That feeling of self-hatred only grew more. 

_"Listen carefully. Do **not** fight. Class rep, you're in charge." Iida nodded, "understood." You were all about to leave until Midoriya called for Mandalay. "K-Kota. I know where he is!" She gives him a hesitant nod, "be careful, Deku." Midoriya nodded before running to a different direction, using his Quirk to go faster._

_Looking at where Midoriya went you stopped your tracks. "(Y/N), we need to go." You gave Iida a painful look, "we need to help them -" he shook his head, "we can't. Believe me when I say I want to too, but we need to listen to their orders and leave it them."_

_Nodding your head in defeat, you followed behind them as they ran to safety. You felt your fists clenching tighter and tighter, the thought of not being able to help in a villain attack stabbed you right in the gut. It defeated your purpose to wanting to become a hero. **"What kind of hero runs away from a villain attack?"**_

_Your body felt like it was getting heavier and heavier each step you took. The thought of your classmates fighting it off with villains, it was fucked up to say but you didn't know if you were mostly worried about them or jealous. **"You're the worst hero."**_

A knock on your door caused you to open your eyes. "(Y/N), sir Aizawa and All Might are here." You heard your mother's voice thru the door. "I'm sorry.. she hasn't been the best." You sat up from your bed and tried to eavesdrop a little more. You couldn't believe your ears at that moment.

_"Why are they here? Am I getting kicked out? Is this because I ran away like a fucking coward?"_

Without realizing you had walked out of your room and all eyes were on you. Although you were still in your pajamas, your hair was the definition of a bird's nest, eyes red and puffy, that didn't stop you. You looked at your mom and gave her a confused look.

"Please have a seat, young (L/N)." All Might says to you in a soft tone. Nodding your head slowly, you went to the vacant seat beside your mom and fixed your hair enough for it to be somewhat presentable. "Before you misunderstand this situation, we're here to talk about U.A.'s dorm system."

"D-Dorm system?" The two teachers nodded. "We assume you had received a letter before this?" You turn to look at your mom and she nodded. Not like you could be mad at her, you have been isolating yourself these past few weeks. It only got worse as time passed. "Do we have your permission?" Aizawa looked at your mom before she looked at you.

It looked like she was hesitating for a while, unable to say a word. "Sir Aizawa, All Might, may I have a word with the two of you? A-Alone.." you said in a weak voice. They both nodded slowly before turning their heads to your mom. She held onto your cold hand and squeezed it tightly before leaving you alone with your teachers.

"What is it, young (Y/N)?" You avoided eye contact with them and kept your head down low. "How can U.A. still accept me..." the two looked at each other with raised brows before looking back at you. "During the camp.. I didn't - I didn't even help the Pussycats or my classmates at all during the attack. I just.. ran away."

All Might gave Aizawa a confused look, not knowing what you were talking about. A few tears dropped down from your face as you sniffled lightly, "I'm a coward.. if it were someone else they would've done something and helped." The living room was silent as ever, only your sniffles filled the room.

"(Y/N), may I ask you a question?" You nodded your head, looking down at your feet. "When you were instructed by Mandalay to retreat and head to safety.. were you alone?" You felt your guts spill, wiping your tears off from your eyes with your hand, you shook your head weakly. "You weren't useless. Rather, you were quite helpful in your own way. All of you."

"I get where you're coming from. You're training to be a hero and you didn't get to help anyone when they needed it. But we must also thank you." You lift your head up and finally meet your teacher's eyes. "To you it seems like you didn't help, but to us you helped a lot. You followed orders and you're safe and weren't harmed. That's enough to keep us at ease. It would be worse if every student was injured badly and hospitalized."

You nodded your head slowly. "You improved a lot in just a few days of camp, don't let all your hard work go to waste." Your mom walked in the room with a tray of refreshments, placing it down on the table between you and the teachers. "Now that we have that settled, you're still going to U.A., correct?" A smile appeared on your face as you nodded, making Aizawa smile lightly as well.

"Do we have your permission, mrs (L/N)?" All Might turned to your mother who happily nodded with a smile on her face. "Of course."

* * *

"For now, I'm just glad that we were able to bring Class 1-A back together again." Aizawa spoke in front while every one else was across him. "Everyone was allowed to enter the dorms, huh?" Sero looked at everyone with a welcoming smile. Everyone started talking for a short while until Aizawa started talking again. "Now, I'll explain briefly about the dorms, but first - For now we will focus on getting the provincial licenses we were planning to have you get during the training camp."

"Oh yeah, they did talk about that."  
"So much has happened I completely forgot."

"This is important. Listen up." He turned to his side, "Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Midoriya, Iida. These five went to rescue Bakugou that night." Everyone averted their eyes away from Aizawa the moment those words escaped his lips. "Your reactions tell me that you were all at least aware of it. I'm going to set aside a number of issues and say this: if it weren't for All Might's retirement,"

"I would've expelled everyone except Bakugou, Jirou, Hagakure, and (L/N)." Everyone was taken aback and reacted silently. "The people that knew but didn't stop them, betrayed our trust, no matter the reason. I would be grateful if you could follow the proper procedures and act properly in order to regain that trust." There was a long pause, the tension was rising more and more as you felt Aizawa's stare.

"That's all. Now, we're going inside. Let's have some energy." He snapped out of it quickly and turned around, walking up the the front entrance of the dorm. "(Y/N)," Mina poked your shoulder which makes you turn to look at her. "If you mind me asking where have you been these past few days? You haven't really responded to my texts and calls." Your eyes widened, "oh crap - I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you."

"But are you feeling alright?" You nodded and gave her a reassuring smile, "yeah I'm doing alright."

Aizawa opened the big doors and started his tour. Showing the common room, the girls' rooms and the boys' rooms, the bathroom and laundry room. "Everyone will have their own rooms. They're luxurious spaces equipped with their own AC, toilets, fridges, and closets."

"These are your rooms." Aizawa said and showed the room order. "The belongings you sent ahead have already been placed inside your respective rooms, so unpack and get settled today. I'll tell you more about what will happen from now on tomorrow. That is all. Dismissed!"

It was already evening and almost everyone was at the common room. "Hey guys, why don't we do a room presentation contest?" Mina suggests and immediately Midoriya and Tokoyami look like they have just seen a ghost. They started going from room to room and you just followed them from behind slowly. While walking you had just remembered your conversation with Mina earlier today.

"Fuck I haven't checked my phone in weeks -" you rummaged inside your pocket and took out your phone. You turned it on and unlocked it using your pin code, seeing 99+ notifications, you choked. Clicking on the messaging app, it was all mostly from Mina spamming you.

**Mina**  
_(Y/N), we're planning to visit the hospital_

**Mina**  
_you comin?_

**Mina**  
_we're all here now_

**Mina**  
_(Y/N) I'M BORED_

Her messages keep going and going. You clicked the "Read All" button and left your chat with Mina, your eyes now focusing on something else. 

**Shinsou**  
_**5 missed messages.** _

You slowly click his message and read what he had sent you.

**Shinsou**  
_idk if you'll get this message but hope you're doing great in camp_

He sent that on your first day there.

**Shinsou**  
_saw this in my recommendations and thought about you._

Under that message he had attached a link to a video. 

**Shinsou**  
_no signal i'm guessing_

He stopped messaging for a while until a day after the incident.

**Shinsou**  
_just saw the news are you okay?? are you hurt??? you still haven't replied so i'm guessing you're most likely resting. please stay safe and message me when you can_

You heaved a frustrated breath, rubbing your face. "I haven't replied to him and its been weeks." You thought to yourself and your friends saw your sudden frustration. "You okay?" They asked. You gave them a nod, "just saw all of Mina's 99+ messages." They all laughed before continuing with their room competition while you stayed behind.

You looked down on your screen and tried thinking about something to reply to. You'd feel bad for leaving Mina for leaving her on delivered with 99+ messages but shes always been a spammer when it comes to chats. You started to type "hey i'm back" but quickly erased it, slapping your cheek lightly.

"You could just walk to his dorm." Was the first thing in your mind but you quickly shook it off. _"You can't even message him, what more have a conversation with him face to face."_ You scolded yourself. 

You looked at the time and decided to head to your room early when you couldn't find any of your friends in the hallway anymore.


	11. Comfort

It was two days after the provincial hero license exam, everyone in your class except for Bakugou and Todoroki passed. Summer break had just ended and it was your first day of classes. Changing into your uniform inside your room, it was a different uniform this time. Instead of the long-sleeve, button-up white shirt and the gray blazer with blue-green stripes, it had turned into a short sleeved white top, the same dark blue-green skirt, and a red tie.

You fixed your tie while looking at yourself in the mirror, trying to perfect it. "(Y/N) if you're going to take this long we're leaving you." You heard Mina's whining thru the door, you rolled your eyes playfully and grabbed your bag, leaving your room.

You close the door behind you and was greeted by Tsuyu. "Sorry, I was fixing my tie. Let's go?" The three of you left the dorm while the others were still getting ready or were about to leave as well. 

While walking Mina kept running around and jumping, talking about how excited she is now that she has her hero license and for the 2nd semester. You couldn't blame her though, you definitely aren't as expressive as Mina, but you felt the same excitement she was feeling.

"I wonder what's going to happen this semester." Tsuyu looked at you while Mina was in front, skipping happily. You let out a laugh, "after all that's happened so far I don't think I'll be surprised about anything any time soon." The two nodded at your words.

The three of you entered your class together and saw some of your classmates already inside. Going to your seat and placing your bag down, "I feel like I haven't been in here in years." You let out and stretched your arms before taking your seat.

"Izuku and Bakugou won't be attending school today, right?" Tsuyu asked from behind. You nodded, "they're in house arrest right now. Midoriya only misses 2 days though while Bakugou's going to miss 3 since he punched first." You explained.

The bell rang after a while and right on cue, Iida stood up from his seat and inhaled deeply. "Alright everyone! Stay in line and move promptly to the grounds!" He raised his voice and started moving his arms around as usual. As told, everyone formed a line and started walking. "You're the one who's not in line." Sero teased and started laughing with Jirou. Iida suddenly slouches forward, his fingers twitching. "The dilemma of the class rep." He said in a painful tone.

You looked in front and saw that Class 1-B was there and talking to some of your classmates. As usual, Monoma was causing a raucous, laughing histerically before Kendo lands a karate chop on the back of his neck causing him to stop mid-laugh.

"Hey! We're trying to get through back here." Iida immediately got in front, "I'm sorry. Come on now everyone, keep your chitchat for later. You're causing a lot of trouble to other people." He apologized. You felt your insides twist a little when you knew exactly whose voice that was, keeping your eyes away as a figure approaches. 

"Don't show me how uncool you are." He said in his usual stern tone, passing by. You felt him stop his tracks, making you lift your head up to meet his eyes.

You haven't seen Shinsou in almost a month and it feels like he's a completely different person. You just realized how broad his shoulders have gotten, his arms, chest - it was obvious that he was working out.

He looked down on you and smirked, walking away with some of his classmates following behind him. You weren't so sure but why did he seem.. bigger.

"Shinsou.." Tokoyami said out his name as they watched the indigo haired boy walk out. "That guy looks.. like he's bulked up a bit." Sero finished with his hand rubbing his chin. 

You were too busy trying to repeat that scene in your head. You expected him to glare at you or act as if you didn't exist, but instead he stopped for a quick second beside you and just gave you a smug look before walking away. 

"You didn't tell me Shinsou was working out, (Y/N)." Not making eye contact you stood there, "I didn't even notice until today." You replied with before your class started walking again.

* * *

"(Y/N), we're going ahead to the dorms. Are you sure you wanna stay behind?" Momo asked. You nodded, "positive. I still need to talk to sir Aizawa about something." They nodded and waved you goodbye.

Grabbing your bag, you started heading towards the faculty room. The halls were empty compared to earlier and the sun was starting to set. Knocking on the door lightly, you waited for an answer.

Present Mic opened the door and let's out a gasp, "(Y/N) what are you doing here?" You gave him a smile, "I'm looking for sir Aizawa. Is he here?" You asked. He gives you a nod and opened the door for you, "he's by his desk just walk over to him." You bowed and thanked Present Mic before entering the faculty room.

You looked around and finally spotted Aizawa. Making your way towards him, you quickly stopped when you saw that he was talking to someone. Aizawa catches you and looks at you, "(Y/N)?" He raised a brow causing Shinsou who stood in front of him to turn his head around.

His eyes meet yours and you quickly looked the other way. "I didn't mean to intrude, I'm sorry." Aizawa shook his head and stood up from his seat, "it's fine, what's the matter?" 

"I forgot to give you these a few days ago but.." you took out a paper bag and handed it to him with both hands. He takes it from you, "it's brownies. I wanted to give you something to thank you for motivating me." He takes a peek inside the bag and nodded, "you didn't need to, but thank you." 

You could feel Shinsou's eyes on you the whole time, making you sweat slightly. "Oh, Shinsou do you know each other?" He turns to the indigo haired. He nodded, "yeah we know each other." 

You could feel the awkwardness in the air and you hated every second of it. "Will that be all, (Y/N)?" You quickly nodded, "y-yeah," Aizawa placed the paper bag filled with brownies on his desk and turned to the both of you with crossed arms, "(Y/N) why don't you help Shinsou out with carrying those boxes to the storage room? Unless you have other businesses to attend to." Shinsou shook his head, "it's fine, I can handle it mys -" 

"Sure." You cut him off and he looks at you with wide eyes. "Wonderful. Now your job will be easier with the use of (Y/N)'s Quirk now run along." Aizawa smacks Shinsou's shoulder and starts pushing him away, practically shooing him away like a stray animal. "I have things to do. And if anything happens to (Y/N) be prepared to pay for the consequence." 

Sighing, Shinsou walks over to the boxes at the corner of the faculty room. As you were about to get one, he takes the box from you and stacked it up on the one he was already holding. "I'll do it." You pouted, "there's no point of me being here if you won't even let me help." He smiled lightly but didn't say a thing.

The two of you left the faculty room together and made your way to the storage room. "You didn't have to say yes, you know." He brought up.

"Well I kind of needed to talk to you any way." He raised a brow before smirking, "are you finally going to tell me what happened in the training camp or are you going to apologize for keeping me on delivered for 2 weeks?" He let out a laugh but you kept a straight face.

"Well yeah." He noticed the change of atmosphere, "crap I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for it to come off in that way." 

You quickly shook your head, "it's fine." You looked at him and punched his arm lightly, "you never even told me that you were working out. Your arms aren't like noodles anymore and I feel like you won't even react or be affected by my punches anymore."

He let's out a laugh, "don't I tell you every now and then that I practice?" You hummed, crossing your arms, "okay true."

"How was camp? Apart from the incident. Did you even improve? Bet I already out skilled you." The boxes in his hands start floating and he turns to look at you. "Wanna bet on that?" You give him a smug look back and he just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah umm.. no. Apart from that, I actually wanted to apologize." He gives you a confused look, "apologize for what?"

"You were probably worried about me when I wasn't responding to your messages, huh." You lowered your head while the stack of boxes continued to float behind you. "(Y/N) -" you heaved a breath, "and I didn't get to read them because well.. that's a different story. It was just a bad time for me and I started distancing myself from everybody even my own family. I read them a few days ago and wanted to reply since I didn't want you worried but I ended up not doing anything at all because I didn't really know how to reply to you and didn't want to seem like a bother.." you said more than you should've.

Shinsou turns to face you, "is that why you thanked sir Aizawa for?" You nodded slowly, rubbing your elbow as you chuckled lightly, "I was actually planning on leaving U.A. but.. he talked me out of it.." suddenly Shinsou wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into a hug.

"If you're feeling down, don't hesitate to tell me. Don't say that you don't want to be a bother, alright? I'm your friend and I'll always be here for you. You gotta remember that you're no longer alone anymore." His words struck you all at once and caused the boxes to fall. You haven't heard those words before. The feeling of warmth, his comforting words, everything came at you all at once before tears started flowing down your cheeks.

He felts his chest area getting wet from your tears and that makes him pull you a little bit closer, rubbing your back. He pulls you away but still held onto your shoulders, he leans forward and gets on the same eye level as you. "Tell me every thing that happened, okay? Let it all out."

You had finally finished doing the task Aizawa instructed you both to do. Shinsou placed the last box down, "is that everything?" You nodded, "that's basically everything that happened." He closed the door of the storage room. The sun was already setting, the sky having an orange and pink hue.

"I'm just glad you're safe honestly." He said out of the blue. You looked at him before chuckling, "a lot has happened." He nodded, "you could say that again."

"You can head back to your dorm now, I can walk myself." He shook his head at you, "I'll walk you to your dorm, it's fine. I don't have anything to do any way." 

"You make me feel so ashamed of myself." You admitted with a sigh. "What's that supposed to mean?" Smiling lightly at him, "because you do so much for me and I barely do anything in return. Not like you'd let me in the first place anyway."

He raised both of his hands in the air as if he was surrendering, "alright cop, then what would you like to do?" You looked around trying to think of something. "Hm.." your face suddenly lit up, startling him a bit.

"Wait out here, alright? I need to get something in my room, I almost forgot." You slapped the side of your face and ran inside the dorm, leaving Shinsou alone outside.

You came running out and had something in your hands. Making your way towards Shinsou, you hid the item behind your back and gave him a smile. "Close your eyes and hold your hand out." 

"You really are 7 years old aren't you?" You rolled your eyes at him and stomp lightly, "just close your eye, please?" He heaved a breath and did as told. You giggled before putting something on the palm of his hand, closing it. 

"Can I open my eyes now?" He asked. You hummed in response and he looked down at his closed hand. He opened it slowly and saw a cat keychain. "I bought that during camp! They had a souvenir shop and I decided to buy something for you. It reminded me of you which was perfect." He looked closely at the keychain.

It was a black fluffy cat with purple eyes and a piece of bread on its mouth. 

"I don't know if it's exactly your style but -"  
"It's perfect."

You looked at him and you both exchanged wide smiles. You both waved goodbye and he started walking back to his dorm, looking down at the keychain, his smile not fainting.

* * *

_Shinsou sat by the dining table eating his lunch, his eyes wandering all over the place. He had just received a text that his parents' flight was delayed and they wouldn't be arriving till the day after. While heavily thinking, the news came on which makes him snap out of it._

_"The League of Villains have attacked once again. They managed to locate U.A.'s Class 1-A and Class 1-B and attacked them last night." Shinsou's eyes widened, dropping the chopsticks he was holding as he stares at the TV screen. Quickly, he grabbed his phone and started texting you while listening to the reporter._

_"Fortunately, only a few students were badly injured. We've gotten some insights that the League of Villains have kidnapped one of the students by the name of Bakugou Katsuki."_

_His message sends and he scrolls up to his past messages that you have yet to reply to. "Fuck," he cussed silently. His cat Haru rested on his lap, nuzzling her face to his lower torso. Taking a deep breath before exhaling, he pets the black cat on his lap, making her purr silently._

_2 weeks have passed and still no response from you. He checked his phone a couple of times every day to see if you've already read his messages. Not at all. He hasn't seen you or heard from you in weeks which makes him worry._

_"She's fine, Hitoshi. She's okay." He thought to himself. Hes held back for so long from trying to spamming you with messages. "At least reply to me, woman." He leaned back and was now laying down on his bed, face looking up at the ceiling as his wrist rests on his exposed forehead._

_Their first day living at the dorm, right after his training and a long hot shower, his classmates offer him to join their board game but he refused and told them he was going to sleep early. Once he entered his room and closed the door behind him, we went towards his bed and sat down. Grabbing his phone that was resting on his bed the whole time, he checked the notifications he missed and swiped the irrelevant ones away._

_While looking through his phone he remembered you and checked your chat with him, expecting nothing. His eyes shot open when he saw that you've read his messages half an hour ago._

_Brushing his fingers through his drenched purple locks, exposing his forehead a bit. _"Is she ignoring me now or.."_ he thought for a bit before he saw a chat bubble. You were typing._

_He puts his screen a bit closer to him, watching you type down something before deleting it immediately. A smile appears on his lips, finding it amusing. School doesn't start until Monday which was just 2 days away. Shinsou continued to look at your chat for a while, seeing you typing a response before deleting made him his mind at ease. At least now he was sure you were alive, not that he doubted it._

_For a while he noticed that you stopped, making him put his phone down. Though you didn't reply to him, he was relieved to know that you weren't mad at him or avoiding him. He lays down and a wide smile was on his face, his hands resting behind his head._


	12. Movie Night

It was a weekend and you were just done with your chores. Plopping down on the couch in the common room as you exhaled. "I want this place spotless, got it?" Everyone replied with tired yeses as they continue to clean. Before Aizawa leaves the dorm he turned around, "if you're done with your share of the chores, tomorrow you can do as you wish. If you need to leave campus, please write a letter and give it to me stating where and why. If you're going to leave the dorm, be back before 10PM, got that?" He closed the door behind him and left.

"(Y/N) are you done?" You nodded, "yeah I just finished." Mina smiled widely at you and you cut her off before she could say anything, "- no fuck off, I'm not helping you." She started playfully landing punches at you and you just smacked her with a pillow, "quit wasting time and finish your chores." She sighed and walked away shortly after.

It was getting late and was about to be 8PM soon. Some of your classmates had already finished their chores and are either out of the house or inside their respective rooms. The internship had been tiring, you could say that. Midnight hasn't going easy on you like last time - now that she saw you lift Sero up without even moving a finger, she has been working you hard to the bone. Not like you were complaining though. You liked Midnight's challenges and doing missions with her, saving lives of civilians, it was all refreshing.

Your phone made a subtle _ding!_ sound. You picked it up and checked the notification.

**Shinsou**  
_you got a TV in your room?_

You rub the back of your head, confused to his random message and question.

**You**  
_yeah, why do you ask?_

He read your message but didn't reply or type. There was a knock on the door after a few minutes. Turning your attention to Ojiro who answered the door, his eyes went wide as he took a step back. "(Y/N), someone is here to see you." You watch as the purple haired boy entered the dorm, making everyone look at him with either confused looks on their faces or disgusted. Iida ran to where you were and stayed in front, "I'll protect you (Y/N). I'll distract him while you make a run for it."

"You do know that I can hear you, right?" You stood up from your seat and went between Iida and Shinsou. "Now, now - he's a friend of mine. He's just here to hangout." You explained briefly before taking his wrist and dragged him somewhere with less people. "Mind explaining your sudden visit?" You looked at him with crossed arms. He reached for something inside his pocket which makes you raise your eyebrows.

Taking out a small flash drive, "I downloaded movies and thought we should watch some together." You couldn't help but smile at his answer, "you could've at least told me you were coming." He playfully rolled his eyes, "if I did you would've stalled time and thought it would be too much trouble, I'm gonna get in trouble, your friends are going to -" you ct him off by covering his mouth, hushing him. "Fine, fine I see your point. But next time please do warn me. Or I don't know.. give me some kind of hint??"

Taking your wrist in his hand as he pulled it down away from his lips, "so is that a yes?" Sighing, you give him a nod and felt your heart melt a little when a smiled perked up at the corner of his lips. You led him to your room but before you opened the door, you held onto the knob and looked at him. "Does.. Aizawa know you're here? Or your homeroom teacher."

He nodded, "I already asked permission. If you're asking if I wrote the letter I didn't because he said that I only needed to write one if I were to leave campus." Shinsou explained. You nodded and let out a relieved breath, opening the door. You both entered and you closed the door. Your room was simple. Your bed was right in the middle, your study area right by the window and your TV on a counter.

"What movie are we watching?" You asked him and started setting the TV up. He plugs the flash drive into the back of the TV, "I didn't know what genre you were into so I downloaded a bunch to make sure. I even downloaded children's shows - I won't judge." He placed his hands in the air which caused you to yell at him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He sat on the bed beside you and you started looking at the movies on the screen.

As you looked through the dozens of movies, Shinsou heaved a breath, "you can let them in I don't mind." You turned to look at him with raised brows. He points towards your door and you got up to open it. A group of people ended up falling, losing their balance as they were leaning against your door, eavesdropping.

You placed your hands on your hips, "guys eavesdropping isn't cool." You looked down at them as they stood up with embarrassing smiles on their faces. "We were just checking if something was happening." Shinsou, who was stoic as always, gives them a look and sighed, "if I was going to hurt her why would I do it in her own dorm where her classmates are?" He asked which makes them choke.

"Nothing freaky was happening in ther -" Kirishima elbowed Kaminari on his stomach, making him yelp. You turn to Shinsou and he just shrugged. "You guys want to watch with u -" they walked right passed you and entered your room. You heaved a breath and closed the door as everyone was settling in on different spots. It was only Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Jirou luckily. You sat beside Shinsou who was now sitting on the floor, leaning his back on your bed. 

"I'm really sorry for this." He shook his head, "it's fine. I just need to take my mind off of things right now." Before you could reply, the movie was starting and cuts you off before you could say anything. You looked at Shinsou for a while who was focused on the screen. _"What could you be trying to avoid?_ You thought.

You guys were 20 minutes in the movie and you suddenly got up on your feet. "Does anyone want any foods or drinks? I'll go get some in the kitchen." Most of them nodded, "can you bring back some soda and popcorn?" You nodded your head and left the room. A sigh escaped your lips the moment you closed the door behind you, walking to the kitchen. You grabbed some popcorn and placed it inside the microwave, waiting for it to finish popping.

Opening up the soda in your hand as you chugged it down your system. "Someone seems stressed." A voice out of nowhere says which causes you to choke on your drink. Shinsou stood in the opposite side of the counter. "Not really," you replied with and put the soda down, wiping the edge of your lips with the sleeve of your shirt. "I'm just really sorry. I didn't think they would join in and -" he chuckled lightly, "it's alright. I didn't mind it." He said and took the soda you had just placed down, tracing his fingers on its edges.

"Shinsou -"  
"Call me Hitoshi. We've known each other for so long there's no need to be so formal."

He gives you a friendly smile before averting his eyes back to the soda bottle in his hands. Nodding your head slowly, "Toshi," his smile comes back when he heard you say his name. "Is Toshi good? Or should I still stick to Hito -" his sudden laugh cuts you off, "it's cute. Don't worry about it too much. Anyways, yes?" He placed the bottle down and leaned his head closer, tilting it slightly.

"I was going to ask you.. what did you mean when you said you were taking your mind off of things?" Once again its been a while since the two of you hung out. You'd usually meet each other in the library but you barely go there anymore and so does he. You were caught up with a few things and he was busy training. He shook his head, "its nothing to worry about really." 

"But that goes against what you told me a few days go." He looks up at you and meets your eyes. "When I was down and didn't vent my emotion out, I was stuck at a very bad place. My mind wasn't clear, I was overthinking constantly, and it took a tole on my mental health. And I'm going to say the same things you told me." You took a deep breath, "you're not alone anymore, Toshi. I'm here for you, so whatever you're going thru right now or in the future, don't hesitate to tell me." You gave him a big smile.

The silence between you two was interrupted by the microwave beeping. Taking a bowl out, you started pouring the popcorn in it, the smell of butter filled your nostrils, making you salivate. Shinsou handled the sodas while you handled the bowl. Opening the door to your room, you were shocked to see that they were all bawling their eyes out. You were taken aback and Shinsou had the same reaction.

You placed the bowl of popcorn on the bed and watched as tears flowed down their faces. "W-What happened -" Mina grabbed you by your shoulders and starts shaking you back and forth, "you should've seen it (Y/N). They were battling it out and it ended with.." she starts crying on your chest, soaking up the shirt you were wearing. Sighing, you rubbed the back of her head, comforting her.

* * *

"I'll walk you to your dorm." He shook his head, "that won't be necessary." Shinsou looked at you as you pouted, giving him an upset look. He sighed in defeat, "I can't win against you." Smiling widely, you hopped down and started walking with him. It was late at night and the whole place was silent. 

"So whats been bothering you?" He shrugged his shoulders, placing his hands inside his pockets. "A lot of things. Mainly because of school, but it's whatever." You looked at his eyes before looking down, eyeing his now built form. "My eyes are right here." He teased and you looked away, hiding your slightly red tinted face. "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to be creepy or anything."

"I'm just shocked at how.. muscular you've gotten in a month of not seeing you. That or I just haven't noticed at all." He shrugged his shoulders. You weren't lying though. You started looking at his dark purple eyes. Admiring them silently. "How's your internship with Midnight going?" You snapped out of your thoughts and nodded, "it's going great! Shes been making it harder and harder for me but I don't mind. It just means I can improve even better."

"Any updates on your Quirk? You really haven't been filling me up with any details." You placed your pointer finger on your lips, giving him a wink, "that's a secret for you to find out on your own." You teased him jokingly. He just snickered, ruffling your hair lightly. Without realizing you had arrived at his dorm. He turned towards you, "would you like me to walk you back to your dorm?" You smacked his arm playfully.

"Really though, thank you for everything Toshi. And I'm sorry with how my classmates treat you.. they're not that bad I promise." He shook his head, "it's fine. I kind of like it. It shows that they're intimidated by me and take me seriously."

"For a guy that shits on me for not telling him anything about my Quirk, you seem to be good at that too." He laughed, "like you said." He placed his pointer finger on his lips and winks at you, imitating your movements from earlier. "That's a secret for you to find out on your own." You pushed him away while he busted out of laughter. "I'll kick your ass." His smile fades away as he took a step closer to you, his figure much bigger and taller than yours. "I'd like to see you try." A smug look plastered on his face and you just rolled your eyes at him.

While trying to push him, he had grabbed your wrist quickly resulting you both to fall. You landed on top of him, your hands landing on the sides of his head. He was laying on the grass, eyes all over yours. Although it was late at night, Shinsou's face was crystal clear as his eyes never left yours. You both stayed in that position for a while before you suddenly felt your limbs shake out of embarrassment, laying down beside him.

"I'm really sorry, I'm really sorry, I'm really really sorry -" you covered your heating face with your hands, feeling your chest pounding violently. "I was that one that pulled you. So therefore, we're **both** sorry." He got up on his feet and offered you a hand, you willingly take it and he helps you up. That was the most beautiful you've seen Shinsou. When he was laying on the grass, his eyes were sparkling as they looked up at you, his lips were agape slightly, his indigo locks you wanted to get your hands on -

"You alright?" He asked. Quickly nodding your head as you took a few steps away from him, coughing. "T-Thanks.. again." He suddenly placed his hands on both sides of your face, "what are you so red for? You're getting warmer too, are you sick?" You felt even more embarrassed, "I-I have to head back to the dorm before sir Aizawa catches me." You let out a nervous laugh. "S-See you tomorrow - oh wait it's a Sunday, - oh ummmm, bye -" you quickly ran away from him, hiding your face with your face as you started beating yourself up in your head.

**_"You're an idiot. An actual fucking idiot. Why did you react like that out of the fucking blue? Idiot, idiot, idiot."_ **

Shinsou watched you run to your dorm. A smile appearing on his lips shortly after as he chuckled to himself. "Idiot," he said softly before entering his dorm.


	13. School Festival

The School Festival was in a few days and your class decided to perform a song and dance. Since you didn't have any musical experience, they put you in the dance department. Your classmates were gathered in the common area while you were in the kitchen with Sato. You finished stirring the pot filled with curry while he was finishing up the cake. "(Y/N) and Sato, are you listening?" Mina asked from across the room.

"It's hard to cook and listen at the same time especially when you're _that_ far, Mina." She continued teaching them new dance steps. "This'll do. Dinner's ready guys." You announced and they all rushed towards the food like animals. You grabbed a serving and sat down with your friends.

"How long have you been cooking for, (Y/N)?" Kirishima asked. "When I was a kid my mom would always ask me to help her with cooking meals for the family. It just stuck by me, I guess." Momo took a sip from the curry and gasped, "this is really good." You smiled sheepishly, "t-thanks.."

Bakugou clicked his tongue, "it's decent. I can make better curry any way." Kirishima smacked the back of his head which causes Bakugou to grab him by his collar and start yelling at him. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR YOU RED HEAD?!" Everyone around started laughing. Mina sat down across you and heaved a breath, "this is tiring but I'm glad we're going places."

"How's everyone so far?" You asked. Mina rubbed the back of her head, "dancing isn't really for everyone which I understand so I don't mind them screwing up once in a while. Still makes me mad though." She sulked silently. 

"Oh yeah, (Y/N) what's Shinsou's class doing for the School Festival?" You were caught off guard by the sudden mention of his name. "Oh uhh.. he mentioned something about a haunted maze." They gasped, "that's pretty cool. So are you planning on going?" You shook your head quickly, "I don't really do well with scary things." You laughed nervously.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! I heard they were going all out on props and every thing." 

"I don't think that's very convincing to me." You took a spoonful of curry and placed it inside your mouth. "Will he be watching our performance?" You swallowed the curry in your mouth, "I don't know about that. Why are you guys suddenly asking questions about him any way?" You took a piece of tissue and wiped your mouth with it. "Kaminari hasn't stopped talking about Shinsou ever since he stopped by here to watch movies with you."

"H-Hey that's not true! Well, I just find him cool that's all." He admitted and continued eating his meal. "Have you two hung out recently?" You shook your head, "this week not much. We just pass by each other down the hall sometimes and wave at each other." You still weren't sure as to why they kept asking you about Shinsou. You got up from your seat and took your plate with you.

"(Y/N), we'll handle the dishes. You already cooked for us after all." Iida stopped you before you could wash your plate. Nodding slowly, "thanks guys. I'll be in my room if you guys need anything." You grabbed your phone from the couch and went up the stairs. 

**You**  
_u busy?_

You sent the message and entered your room. You sat down on the chair and placed your phone down. You decided to do your homework while you were in your room before practices start again. _Ding!_

You grabbed your phone and looked at his message.

**Hitoshi**  
_just finished training, what's up?_

**You**  
_wanted to confirm if your class was doing a haunted maze._

**Hitoshi**  
_yeah, why do you ask?_

**Hitoshi**  
_you are going right?_

**You**  
_i never once agreed or said that_

**Hitoshi**  
_your opinion doesn't matter, i'll force you to go_

**You**  
_that's not very nice of you_

**Hitoshi**  
_scared that i won't be there to protect you?_

You looked at his message with wide eyes before rolling them,

**You**  
_your ego is coming out of your ass again_

**Hitoshi**  
_well i'm forcing you to do and you will_

**You**  
_we'll see about that_

**Hitoshi**  
_if i manage to scare good enough, you owe me a favor_

**You**  
_do as you please, not like i'm going to go any way_

**Hitoshi**  
_i'll take that as a 'challenge accepted'_

You turned your phone off and resumed doing your homework. After 20 minutes or so you were finally done. You stretched your arms in the air and yawned. _Ding!_

**Mina**  
_(Y/N) PRACTICES ARE STARTING GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE._

You stood up from your seat and left your room.

* * *

It was the day before the performance and everyone was nervous and excited at the same time. You weren't as nervous as some of your classmates but there was this thought inside your head that was telling you that you might screw the whole performance up for everyone. "You good, (Y/N)? You could go to your room and sleep now." Jirou told you but you shake your head.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight either way. Everyone's been working hard and I want our hard work to pay off tomorrow." Mina smacked your arm playfully, "and it will." You spent the next hour in the common room with a few of your classmates left while the others were inside their rooms and sleeping. While scrolling thru your phone, you saw a cat video on your timeline.

Smiling lightly at it, you sent the video to Shinsou. Surprisingly, he replied.

**Hitoshi**  
_isn't it about to be 12AM soon?_

**Hitoshi**  
_sleep. you have a performance tomorrow_

**You**  
_i would if i could but i'm nervous_

**You**  
_also shouldn't you be sleeping too?_

**Hitoshi**  
_well, unlike your performance, mine involves me looking dead so there's not much i can change abt that_

You smiled at his messages and let out a laugh.

**Hitoshi**  
_you'll do great don't worry about it_

**Hitoshi**  
_don't sleep too late_

**You**  
_got it_

A few of your classmates had already left the common room to sleep in their rooms. It was now just you, Jirou, and Mina left. "(Y/N), just a random question." Jirou leaned back on the couch as you raised your brows at her. "Its been a while so I just want to make sure.." she paused, "do you still have no feelings for Shinsou?"

You gave her a blank look and shrugged, "not much has changed. We just got closer, I guess." Mina groaned loudly, "it's either you're just very good at hiding it or you're the most dense person alive." You wrapped your arms around your legs and rested your chin on your knee, "I'm not lying though. I've never really took relationships too seriously. I'm too busy with school and my future."

"I get what you mean. We all have the same goals, I keep forgetting.." Jirou started playing with her earphone jacks, thinking to herself. "We might be having fun right now but one day it'll all disappear and we're all going to gradua -" you quickly smacked Mina with a pillow, cutting her off. "We're still in our first year in high school why are you bringing up graduation so early?" You start smacking Mina repeatedly with a pillow as she laughed.

"You're not wrong though." You stopped and put the pillow down on the couch. "It feels like school just started yesterday and now.. we're in our second semester." You slowly sat down beside Mina. "Not to mention all the battles we participated in." 

"All that in one semester.." the three of you talked more for a little while before it was time to go to sleep.

You laid down on your bed, looking up at the ceiling. It took you a while to sleep but you eventually passed out.

* * *

"Where can Midoriya be.." your classmates were running around backstage asking the same question. "He went out to buy rope but its been over an hour now." You looked at yourself in the mirror and fixed your costume. "The show starts in 5 minutes and he's not here yet." You looked over to Mina who was obviously frustrated.

"He'll be here soon, don't worry too much." You tried reassuring her but she just sighed, "he better be." 

The lights turned off right on cue and the show was about to start. Everyone quickly got into their positions and waited for Bakugou's signal. "We're gonna murder all U.A. students with Music!" He yelled loudly before causing an explosion, the music starting right away. You started dancing along with the dancing department while the rest were playing their instruments.

The crowd was cheering for your class which made you feel happy. Jirou was singing to the mic while the crowd was also dancing, jamming to the song. "Hero too, I am a hero too. My heart is set and I won't back down." Everyone was doing the choreography as planned while the special effects crew were going an amazing job as well.

While dancing, your eyes caught someone from afar. You locked eyes with Shinsou who was smiling at you lightly, his hands crossed on his chest. Your heart started pounding the more you looked at him. "You're doing great." He mouthed with his lips. You send him a nod and a smile, continuing the dance. 

It all ended faster than you could imagine. The song ended with all of the dancers on top of the gymnasium, standing on top of ice that Todoroki made. The crowd left shortly after and it was time for your class to clean up the venue. You took down streamers that were stuck on the roof, using your Quirk to retrieve them. "(Y/N) wanna come with us after cleanup?" Kaminari approached you.

You took the last streamer, "uhh sure, where are we going?" He smiled lightly and just shook his head, "you'll see. I'll call you when we have to go." He waved his hand before running off to help the others. You were confused for a while before continuing to help with clean-up.

While on your way out, Kaminari waved his hands to get your attention. He was with Mina and Hagakure. "Sorry if it took me a while." They nodded, "it's alright, there's no rush." The four of you started walking. "Where are we going anyway?" Kaminari gives you a big smile, "you'll see." You didn't think much about it since he's usually a happy go lucky person. You were talking to Mina about the performance and she was ecstatic. 

"Did you see the crowd? They were smiling and cheering for us!" She exclaimed with the biggest smile on her face. "I'm glad they enjoyed it. It seemed like our class was enjoying it too." They all nodded in unison. 

They suddenly stopped their steps, making you stop yours shortly after. You looked at the sign and you felt your heart jump right out of your chest.

**Class 1-C's Horror Maze**

"KAMINARI DID Y -" Mina grabbed you by your arm and clung onto it tightly. "YOU WERE IN ON THIS TOO?" You glared at her and tried to push her away from your arm but she only held it tighter. "Come on it's going to be fun, (Y/N). Don't be a sourpuss." Before you could even notice, they were already dragging you inside.

"This isn't funny, this isn't funny." You kept repeating and tried to escape Mina and Toru's grasp but failed. As the sign said, it was a maze. There were multiple pathways to take and it was dark and serene. "Fine, fine, fine, but can you guys let me go? Not like I can exit now." They exchanged looks before nodding, letting you go. You rubbed the parts they held onto, "you guys didn't need to hold me that tightly." They just laughed and shrugged it off.

Toru was leading the three of you while Kaminari was pale as ever. "I thought you were going to be the one leading us, Denki." Mina smacked Kaminari's arm which made him flinch and let out a yell. "We haven't even started yet." Toru replied with.

You looked around the maze. They weren't lying when they said they were going all out on props. If you didn't know this was a Horror Maze you'd think you were lost somewhere in the woods or a haunted mansion. "BOO!" Someone blocked your pathway which makes Kaminari and Mina yell loudly, dragging you and Toru with them. 

"Wait guys -" just when they turned to a different direction, another person pops up in the shadows and jump scares them. Yelling even louder, they continued to drag you and Hagakure while you both were getting tired from running in the same pace as them. Mina's grip on you slips and starts running with Kaminari and Toru, not noticing that she had let go of you by accident.

Since you were accompanied by your friends, you didn't feel as scared and intimidated. But now that you were alone, everything seemed darker and more silent. You could hear something dripping from somewhere, like a faucet. 

You gulped, trying to look for your friends. Although you were alone, you felt like you were being watched. You kept looking at your surroundings, making sure no one was around to pull a sneak attack on you. You let out a breath and continued to walk. Your pace was getting faster and faster when you could hear footsteps coming closer and closer towards you.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.." your mind was in panic mode and you didn't know what to do. "This is the last of (Y/F/N)." You told yourself.

You felt something slither around your waist, "boo." You shuddered when you felt hot air brush against the crook of your neck and quickly tried hitting whatever was behind you. You let out a yell and started throwing your hands around with your eyes shut, not knowing what you were hitting or if you were hitting anything. Shinsou let out a laugh as he lets go of your waist.

The room was dark but you can clearly imagine the smug look on Shinsou's face. You punched his chest, "ASSHOLE." He lets out another laugh, holding on the hand you kept hitting him with. "Did I get you good?" You crossed your arms and sulked silently.

"I have to thank Kaminari for convincing you to come here. But maybe when he calms down." You didn't respond and continued to sulk silently, looking at his clothes that were filled with fake blood. "Did I overdo it?" His tone was different and he sounded upset. You turned around and didn't face him, making him frown a little.

"I-It's not that I'm upset at you or anything.." you coughed, hiding your reddening face. "I'm just embarrassed. That's all.." a light smile appeared on Shinsou's face, "was I too close? If so I'm sorry if I made you uncomfo -"

"It's not that either.." you cut him off. Your heart was still pounding, you didn't know what was happening. You could almost hear it through your ears. "Then what is it?" You finally gathered all the courage to turn back, facing him. "It doesn't matter. What matters is you win, alright?" 

"(Y/N) -"

"Whatever your favor is, I'll do it. And don't hold back like how you usually do just because this conversation happened." You pointed at him with your finger, pressing it on his toned chest. "When are you done?" You suddenly brought up. His eyes slightly widened, rubbing the back of his neck, "uhh.. at around 3PM I think, why?"

"There's this crepe place Uraraka was talking about a while ago and I wanted to try some out. Want to come with me?" You asked. Shinsou didn't know how to react at first and just nodded his head. 

"(Y/N)? (Y/N)! WHERE ARE YOU?!" You heard Toru, Mina, and Kaminari chanting your name nearby.

You turn to look at him and flashed him a smile, punching his arm lightly. "I'll wait for you outside at around 2:30PM then," you waved him goodbye and walked to where the noise was coming from.

Shinsou rubbed the part you had just punched and smiled lightly, shaking his head as he watched you turn the other direction.

* * *

You waited outside of the maze for Shinsou patiently, looking at the time. It was a quarter to 3PM and he still wasn't out. You looked around the place and noticed how happy everyone looked with their friends. Without even noticing, you were smiling too. 

"Sorry, did I take long?" Shinsou came out of nowhere. He was still wearing the same clothes from a while ago, covered in fake blood. You let out a laugh when you saw him. "I'm sorry, princess. Would you like me to change into a fancy-like outfit similar to yours?" You smiled lightly and shook your head, "if you asked me I was more worried if you were going to change and hide that beautiful outfit from the world."

"Let's go," you tilt your head and he nodded. Though his clothes were still filled with fake blood, he had cleaned his face. You and Shinsou got your crepes and you took a big bite of yours. "This is so good!" You exclaimed and took another bite. "Do you not like sweets?" You asked him.

He shrugged, "they're okay. I don't like it when it's too sweet though." He takes a bite from his as the two of you walked around. "You guys did good." He said. You chuckled lightly, "I'm glad. I was worried I was going to screw a step up." You laughed nervously.

"If you asked me, you were shining the most." He takes a bite from the crepe in his hand. Your eyes widened and turned to look at him. He was unfazed about what he had just said as if he didn't even notice he said those words. "What?" You smiled at him and shook your head, taking a bite.

You chewed silently and let out muffled noises, satisfied with the crepe. "You got a little -" Shinsou placed his thumb on the corner of your lips before wiping the whip cream off. "Oh, th-thanks." You cleared your throat, "so what was the favor you wanted from me any way?" You changed the topic.

He hummed and looked away, "hmm.. I'll tell you another time." Your eyes narrowed as you glared at him, he just smiled it off. "SHINSOU!" Kaminari waved, getting his attention. Shinsou lifted his brows, "oh, Kaminari." You watched the two walk up to each other. "Thanks for convincing her." He laughed nervously and rubbed his nape, "I didn't really convince her."

You glared at Kaminari from the side before finishing your crepe. "Sorry again, (Y/N). But it seemed like you were braver than I was." The two talked for a little longer before walking way. "You guys seem to be close." You brought up before walking with him again. "He's okay. He asked for my number at school and that's how I told him about my plan."

"And you gave it to him? Someone changed." He playfully rolled his eyes at you, hitting your head lightly. You giggled, "I remember when you used to mentioned that you weren't here to make friends. I'm sure you still think that way but I'm glad you're starting to open up." 

"If not to others, I'm glad you opened up to me and we got this close in just a few months." He looked down his crepe and hands it to you. You take it from him with raised brows, "you hate it?" You asked. He shook his head gently before patting yours, "you just looked happy eating, just take it." He smiled lightly after, putting his hands inside his pockets.

You were confused at first but took a bite of his. You gasped lightly, "YOURS IS EVEN BETTER THAN MINE." You said a little too loud. Shinsou smiled at you before you offer him the crepe. "Come on, take a bite. You're probably still hungry especially from scaring people." You placed the crepe near his face before he leaned in and took a bite from it.

"I saw a stand selling Takoyaki a while ago, do you want to eat that instead?"

You and Shinsou ended up hanging the whole afternoon that day. You both didn't even realize that the sun was already setting. While you were looking around, Shinsou poked on your shoulder. You looked at him and he gives you a tiny paper bag. You give him a confused look before taking the small bag from him. You opened it and took it out.

"It's so cute, I love it!" You said as you looked at the cat keychain. "It kinda looks like your previous cat so I chose it." He explained. You looked at the keychain with the biggest smile, admiring it wholeheartedly. "Now we match!" You exclaimed and put it back inside the bag before putting it inside your pocket.

The day ended faster. You both were outside of Class 1-A's dorm. "Thank you for today." You said with a smile. He smiled back, "any time."

"Oh, Toshi. What about the favor?" His lips parted, nodding. "Right, I almost forgot. Since I didn't specify in our deal, that means my favor doesn't really have a time limit now does it?" You pouted your lips, "you're lame."

"Is it my fault that I'm saving it? I'll never know when I need it the most." You sighed, "I don't even know why you needed a favor so much. You can just ask me right away? Unless you're secretly a creep." He smacked your head, "don't get the wrong idea."

"Well, you've sure got an audience."  
"Huh?"

You turned around and saw most of your classmates looking out the window, spying on you and Shinsou. "These bitches -" he laughed, "well it's time for me to go. I still have to meet up with my classmates." You waved him goodbye and he waved back.


	14. Late Night Walk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter will be focusing more on shinsou's pov, i hope you enjoy (warning: this chapter contains manga spoilers so if you're anime only you've been warned)

Shinsou tried catching his breath. "You got to be faster and smarter than that, Hitoshi." He let out a chuckle, wiping his sweat off with his arm, "I'm just getting started." He observed his surroundings, holding onto the binding cloth wrapped around his neck, pulling it just enough to let some of it rest on his hands. 

He heard footsteps approaching him from behind, he quickly got down on his knee before swinging a foot from behind. Aizawa quickly dodged the boy's attack and jumped up on a tree's branch, resting there. "You've improved." Shinsou smirked, getting up on his two feet and faced the older man.

"But you're still too slow." Aizawa uses his binding cloth and attempts to wrap Shinsou with it. He quickly dodged it, using his to wrap around another tree's branch and swings on top of it, landing perfectly. "Don't underestimate me."

Aizawa let out a deep chuckle, pulling his binding cloth as it wrapped around his neck again, "I see you've taken my advice and practiced more by yourself." A smirk crept on the corner of his lips before he stepped down the tree. "Has your hand-to-hand combat improved though?" He goes into a battle stance, his fists up as they taunt Shinsou.

The indigo haired boy stepped down the tree he was in shortly after and gets on the same stance as his mentor. "Prove to me what kind of hero you really are."

* * *

Shinsou chugged down the bottle of water on his hands, wiping off the excess off from his lips. He has beaten Aizawa a handful of times, but he still wasn't satisfied enough with his progress. _"You can do better."_ He looked down at his hand as it started squeezing the water bottle in frustration, his jaw clenched tightly.

Aizawa gently pats the boy's shoulders, "you've improved. A lot. Give yourself some credit, it's not like you can master all your skills overnight." He let's go of the bottle and sighed, "I just don't want to be left behind. Everyone around me is steadily improving while it feels like I haven't moved an inch at all." Aizawa sits down beside his student, "you may not see it, but you've gotten stronger than you have before. Continue this, and you might be unstoppable." 

"It's just -" Aizawa smacked the back of Shinsou's head, sending him to lean forward. "What was that for?" He said in an angered tone, rubbing the part he had just hit. "Don't think too lowly of yourself. If you don't see your own growth, then what will the point be? You're doing this for yourself, to improve. Those people who you're referring to are just having the same struggles as you." 

Shinsou turned his head and looked at his mentor, "sir Aizawa.." he lands a slap on the boy's forearm, getting up on his feet. "That's all for practice today. You can continue to practice on your own, but make sure to get back to your dorm before curfew." He started walking away, leaving the boy behind.

"Shinsou," he stopped his tracks but didn't turn around. The boy raised his purple brows, looking back at his mentor. "Get plenty of rest, don't overwork yourself." Aizawa said before continuing to walk, his hands shoved inside his pockets as his footsteps started to fade.

He watched as his mentor leaves slowly before turning his attention into the night sky. The stars were out and the moon was crystal clear. Aizawa's words never left his mind, it was as if they were on loop. Never ending.

_"If you don't see your own growth, then what will the point be? You're doing this for yourself, to improve."_

Before he knew it, he started remembering things that happened in middle school. The constant shade his classmates gave him, the whispering, even bullying. Shinsou never used his Quirk for evil, but only used it for mischief and fun.

**_"Your Quirk is perfect for a villain, you'd never brainwash us right, Shinsou?"_ **

Though he always smiled it off, hes always been bothered by it. He never knew how it felt to have someone to rely on: a reason as to why he prefers to do things alone and be independent. Shinsou crossed his legs and leaned back, his hands behind him as they rest on top of the grass. He leaned his head back and shut his eyes, taking deep breaths.

He needed to calm his thoughts down. 

A minute passed and he finally opened his eyes. He grabbed his knapsack that was laying on the ground beside a tree, taking a towel out and used it to wipe his sweat off. _Ding!_

He paused for a second before taking his phone out, still wiping his sweat off with his other hand. 

You sent him a link to a video. 

**(Y/N)**  
_look at the tinie little kitten_

Typing with one hand as he smiled lightly.

**You (Shinsou)**  
_hey you free rn?_

**(Y/N)**  
_yeah, just finished doing everything why?_

**You (Shinsou)**  
_wanna walk around?_

He watched the chat bubble beside your icon as you typed a response. Shinsou didn't really expect you to say yes since it was about to be curfew. He placed his binding cloth inside his bag along with his face towel, zipping the bag close.

_Ding!_

**(Y/N)**  
_sure thing where should we meet?_

**You (Shinsou)**  
_just wait outside your dorm, i'm coming_

He took his bag and started making his way towards your dorm. It was 8:47PM which meant he only had less than 13 minutes to have a walk with you. Shinsou started running to your dorm, seeing you walk out the front door from the distance in your casual wear as you looked down on your phone.

You looked up from your phone and saw him approaching you, giving him a friendly smile and a small wave. Shinsou had finally made it to the front of your dorm and leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. 

"Oh my God, are you okay?" You rubbed his back and he just nodded his head, standing straight up. "Did you just finish practicing?" You gestured to his gym clothes. "I'm good, just needed to see you." 

"Did something happen?" You asked in a worried tone, brows furrowed. "Nothing important, no. Just need company." You nodded your head before you both started walking together. 

Your conversation with him flowed normally like it always does, but your head was full of thoughts. You've known Shinsou long enough to know that he's not really the type of person to ask for company out of the blue. You've picked up on that habit of his a few weeks ago. Once again, its been a hectic 2 weeks for the both of you. You were doing internship again with a few of your classmates and even went on a secret mission behind their backs.

And when you first started interacting with him, his expression was always so hard to read but the more time that passed you realized that he was easier to read than you realized. If it's not his lips, his eyebrows, it's always his eyes that tell you everything. And that's what's happening right now.

"Toshi," he raised his eyebrows and hummed, keeping his head forward. "Are you.. really alright? Or are you just.. trying not to worry me like usual?" He stopped his tracks which makes you stop as well. You turned over to look at him while his head was held down low. You haven't spent proper time with him in weeks so it's hard for you to know what's happening in his life.

"You know me too well." He let out a chuckle before rubbing his nape lightly. One of the many things you liked about Shinsou is that he can't lie. Especially to you. So to avoid lying, he has to avoid the whole problem as a whole and wish no one can read him but he knows well enough to know that that never works on you. 

"Toshi, we've been friends for months. I know that you're still having trouble opening up to someone, I get that and I understand. I just want you to know that you can't always hide your emotions and keep them locked up. I'm your friend, Toshi. Whenever you're ready, I'll always be here to listen to whatever you have to say."

Shinsou keeps his head down and avoids your eyes. This was worse than you thought. You looked away from him and rubbed the back of your head, "I'm sorry that was probably too much. I didn't mean for it to come off as -"

He grabbed your wrist and pulled you closer to him. His arm wrapped around you as his head rests by the crook of your neck, pulling you close. Your eyes widened at first, startled by the sudden hug. Your expression softens before you wrapped you arms around him as well. "Did you.. really mean that?" You heard him mumble. 

Smiling lightly, you nodded, petting the back of his head with your hand, "I mean everything." The hug lasts for a few more seconds before Shinsou pulled away.

"I'm really sorry for that, that probably caught you off guard." You shook your head lightly as you smiled at him, "it's fine. It's actually.. quite nice seeing that softer side of yours. It's cute," you commented.

"Shinsou, (L/N)," you both shuddered when you both knew who that voice belonged to. Turning around slowly, two of your eyes landed on the angered looking teacher in black with his arms crossed on his chest with a foot tapping on the ground. 

"It's past 9PM. What did I tell you?" He was glaring at Shinsou. He let out a nervous laugh, "sorry, sir. It's me you have to punish, I dragged (Y/N) to all of this." You looked at the two of them in fear, not knowing what was happening. 

"This is a warning. (Y/N), head back to the dorm. Shinsou, get to yours or else." The indigo haired Male gulped waving the two of you goodbye before walking to where his dorm was. You turned to Aizawa and your heart was pounding, not knowing what to expect. You quickly walked past him and made your way towards your dorm, entering and closing the door behind you.

Shinsou entered his dorm as a relieved sigh left his lips. "Shinsou? What took you so long it's past curfew." His classmates looked at him. He laughed nervously and just shook his head, "was just training and lost track of time that's all." He explained before heading up to his room.

The moment he closed the door behind him, his face started turning red. Shinsou didn't know why he suddenly grabbed you and pulled you into a hug. It was as if his body acted on its own. That wasn't the first time hes done that, but.. that hug felt different. He could've sworn he felt your heartbeat when you two were hugging and you were warm.

It was a comforting feeling he couldn't explain to himself without feeling like a complete idiot. Shaking his thoughts away, he put his bag down by his bed and took out pajamas from his dresser.

* * *

"Where'd you go? I was going to come over to your room but when I entered you were gone and weren't around the dorm either." 

"I had to meet up with a friend. What did you need anyway?" You asked Mina but she just stuck her tongue out at you as she folded her arms. "Don't change the topic on me. You ditched me for Shinsou, didn't you?"

"You're incorrect, I didn't ditch anybody. You didn't even tell me you were coming over to my room in the first place!" You snapped at her. Mina giggled shyly, "point taken." You sighed, "what were you going to do anyway?"

"I was gonna ask you to download this game I discovered. The name is WhamBam and basically it's a fighting game where people can battle online and fight each other." She explained while throwing kicks and punches in the air. "Did you even do your English assignment?"

Mina started laughing loudly, "that reminds me, I actually already invited Momo to play. Goodnight, (Y/N)~!" She said before booking it up the stairs. You used your Quirk and pull on your clothes, making her fly towards you and you stop her by holding her shoulders. "It's disrespectful to ignore someone's question and walk away. Did your parents not teach you manners?"

You glared at her as your grip on her shoulder tightened, making her squirm. "(Y/N) that hurts!" She cried out. 

"G-Guys tone it down." Momo butted in while Jirou attempts to separate the two of you. "DO YOUR HOMEWORK!" You tackled her, "NEVER!" Mina yelled back as you tried shoving the book into her face. "I'm not letting you go until you finish it." 

"These two sure are something."  
"They give me a headache."


	15. Surprise Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> event takes place in bnha manga ch 195 - 217 !! but just a reminder, i changed a few things

You were changing into your her suit in the locker room. "Sir Aizawa seemed more serious today than usual." Momo brought up which makes everyone's heads turn to look at her. You nodded, "I thought I was the only one that noticed.. there was something off about it."

"Huh? I thought he was just being cranky like usual." Mina chimed in as she folded her uniform before putting them inside her locker. "Is there going to be a challenge?" Tsuyu asked, putting her suit on. "We might be looking into this too deeply. Even so, you might not be wrong." You grabbed your helmet from the suitcase and closed it, putting it inside your locker afterwards. 

"Maybe his sleep was interrupted again." Toru said but it sounded more like a question. "Either way, we have to get ready and prepare. This is U.A. after all, anything can happen." Your words made everyone nod in unison as they continued to change. 

Everyone's hero outfits had changed due to the cold weather. Some had added sleeves or extra layers to keep themselves warm while the others remained the same. Yours ended up not having any changes since yours was already a full bodysuit with just enough thickness for the summer and the winter. While you and your class were talking, footsteps started approaching from the other direction.

"Oy, oy, oy.. quite the relaxed vibe coming from you guys." Everyone turned their heads to where the voice came from and it was from none other than Monoma Neito of Class 1-B. "Now Class A! Today.. is the day we settle things between us, don't ya think?!" He started laughing evilly, leaning back as his arms extended in the air.

He whipped out a piece of paper out of nowhere, pointing at it. "Take a look at this questionnaire! It's from right after the Cultural Festival! Which do you think was better, Class A's concert or Class B's extremely high-quality play?! Can you see it?!" He was holding a paper that tallied up peoples' votes. The majority voted for Class B.

"We won by 2 votes!" He exclaimed loudly while laughing. Kirishima who had the research paper looked down on it, "you didn't even see it, so you can't say anything." He said while Jirou looked at the paper as well.

While laughing, Aizawa's binding cloth comes out of nowhere and wraps itself around Monoma's throat, restricting him from talking or making any noise. "Shut up." He said simply while holding the other end of the cloth. "We're going to have a special guest this time." Vlad King, who was behind Aizawa, said. "Please don't do anything to embarrass yourselves." Aizawa added shortly after.

"A guest?"  
"I'LL KICK HIS ASS!"  
"Is it a girl?"  
"Let's do our best together!"

"He's trying to transfer into the Hero Department." Everyone's lips parted and let out soft gasps. There were footsteps approaching Vlad King and Aizawa from behind slowly but everyone was too caught up by the sudden announcement. A figure stands between the two homeroom teachers and everyone's eyes were all on him. Your eyes widened in shock, not knowing what to say or do.

"It's Shinsou Hitoshi, from the General Department's Class 1-C."

Everyone was either looking at him with wide eyes or were looking at you with wide eyes. "(Y/N) you didn't tell me he was going to -" you shook your head, "I didn't know either.." you whispered back as you looked at Shinsou closely. He had a dark mask resting by his neck and was being covered by a binding cloth that was identical to Aizawa's

"SHINSOU!" Ojiro said loudly while Midoriya was grinning beside him, "so that's what he meant a while ago." They started talking about the hero gear on him.

Shinsou kept a straight face the whole time and was stoic as ever. You were used to that expression of his but this felt different. "Go ahead and greet everyone." Aizawa looked over the student standing beside him and he just nodded his head.

"I know I've already encountered many of you at the sports festival, but you won't catch me thinking that we're all buddies now that we've exchanged blows. I'm not some good-natured person trying to tout a superficial sense of sportsmanship. The fact of the matter is, I've gotten a late start and I've already been left in the dusk by hundreds of steps by you all. I'm sorry, but I'm desperate."

You kept your head down as you listened to his introduction. Yes, you may be close friends with him, but you both know for a fact that you two are still competing against each other no matter what. "I will become a great hero, so that I can use my Quirk to help others. All of you here today are obstacles I must overcome. I have no intention of making friends."

Your classmates started whispering to each other. "Is it just me or this reminds you guys of Todoroki before the sports festival?" Sero asked, making the bi-colored haired boy turn his head to look at him, "you think so?" Sero nodded, "Yep."

"Alright, let's get right down to it then." Aizawa finishes and Vlad King nods, "COMBAT EXERCISES!" He yelled.

"This time around it's a battle between Class A VS. Class B! And the stage will be this section of the training field. Each side will split into groups of four, and one team from each will battle it out at a time!" Vlad King explained. "Today Shinsou will be participating in two battles. One on Class A's side, and one with Class B. In other words, out of give matches, two of them will be 5 VS 4."

"But that means the teams with only four have a clear disadvantage!" Hagakure commented. Aizawa shook his head, "trying to integrate Shinsou, who has next to no experience, into a group of four will likely be an even bigger disadvantage. It's true that the team of five has the numerical advantage, but they'll still have a handicap."

"The setting for this battle is "the heroes move to surround the villain group and capture them!" Each team shall perceive the others as the "villains"! Once either team captures four members of the other, it's their victory."

"We're supposed to be heroes, and yet to our opponents, we're villain?! So which is it?! What are we?!" Iida placed both of his hands on his helmet, panicking loudly. "I think it's fine to consider yourself a hero." Momo brought up as she rubbed her chin.

"In each team's camp, we've installed a "wicked cute irredeemable prison." The moment you imprison your opponent in there, they'll be considered "captured"."

"That means rendering your opponents unable to fight close to your own base would be the most efficient. But that sure won't be easy.." You mumbled to yourself as you started thinking. ""Once either team captures four members of the other".. so that's the handicap, eh?" Bakugou commented on with a brow raised and an eyes squinted more than the other.

"Yup.. not only do you have to team up with an inexperienced member, but you also, even if you're a team of five, you'll still lose if four of you are captured." Aizawa added. 

"So you're saying we have to fight while carrying a dead weight? Is that it? Assholes." Bakugou clicked his tongue in an irritated tone as he turned the other direction. "Cut it out dude! That's such a rude way of saying it!" Kaminari scolds the other blond.

"It's fine. It's the truth, after all." Shinsou spoke out. "You're the one leaving him in the dust in terms of virtuousness!"

The two teachers came back with boxes in their hands. "Alright then, time to draw lots." They both said. The teachers told the students but Shinsou to form a line on their respective boxes and pick out a number from each. Placing your hand inside the box and ran your hand around it, feeling the rubber balls. Until it felt right, you pulled a ball out and it had the number 5 on it.

After everyone was in a team, they all gathered with their respective groups. You ended up being in the same group as Midoriya, Uraraka, and Mina. Mina slapped your back with a smile on her face, "we're in the same group for once, (Y/N)." You nodded your head and was greeted by Midoriya and Uraraka with friendly smiles.

"Alright Shinsou, go ahead and draw yours." Aizawa and Vlad King push their boxes towards the boy, "you'll join the teams of each number you pull." Shinsou nodded his head before taking both of his hands inside the two boxes.

"Shinsou will be joining Class A's Team 1."

"I know one of ours said some nasty stuff, but let's try and get along all the same! It's a pleasure workin' with ya!" Kirishima gives Shinsou the widest smile. "Give me all the details about your Quirk." Tsuyu said with her index on her chin. "You've got a face of a popular guy.I bet you're popular with the ladies, yeah? Trust me, I can tell." Kaminari approached the indigo haired male while Koda was at the back.

"Thanks for having me." He replied simply.

"Shinsou will be joining Class B's Team 5."

"YOU'RE GOOD! YES, VEEERRY GOOD! LET US JOIN FORCES AND GIVE THAT DEPLORABLE CLASS A A NICE THRASHING!!" Monoma exclaimed, holding his hand out to Shinsou for him to take with the biggest grin. "Don't mind him. He always takes things too far."

"Thanks for having me."

"Class B, Team 5.. it'll be a rematch for you, huh Deku?" Uraraka turned her head to the green haired boy. He nodded slowly, "yeah." He pulls out a notebook and pen out of nowhere, "have you gotten stronger, Shinsou? I'm excited to see how you'll come after us!"

"You'll start in your own areas. The time limit is 20 minutes. If you're unable to finish the match in that amount of time, the team with more members remaining wins."

Mina turned her head towards the stairs, "All Might and Midnight are here!" You were too busy looking at the huge screen in front, trying to gather your thought and emotions.

_"Does that mean he'll be in the hero course? Hes never told me any thing about this. Can't blame him, we are competing against each other. But doesn't that mean he'll have to replace someone in the h -"_

"(Y/N) your thoughts are eating you up again~." Mina chanted like a song while she waved her hand around in front of your vision. You blinked before waking up from your thoughts, "crap I'm sorry." The first match was already starting. You looked at the screen closely, trying to observe the first match. Class A's team was walking around with caution as they talk to each other and think of a plan. Bird came back to Koda and rested on his arm.

"They're back already? Did they find her?" Kirishima let out a gasp. "They found Shiozaki to our left! And she's alone! She's heading this way while proving over a wide range with her vines." He explained. "I really can't get behind the idea of ganging up on a girl, but.."

A loud growl was heard and heavy footsteps, making the ground vibrate. Before they knew it, a beast had grabbed Kirishima and threw him, sending him flying to a concrete wall. "We'd already taken into account that we'd be located by sir Koda's searching ability. Of course, we also knew that you'd be the most wary of lady Shiozaki! So we used her as a decoy, allowing me to crawl up close!"

"There's a strong possibility that, if we left him to his devices, sir Kaminari could run away with the match. Therefore, we brazenly invaded your territory first!"

"I'VE GOT QUITE A SENSITIVE NOSE, YOU SEEE!" Jurota yelled. Kosei, who was on Jurota's back the whole time, "check out my new special move, after developing my Quirk!" He breathes thru a device which makes a box made out of air trap Koda. 

"You won't able t discharge any electricity when you're surrounded by your teammates, Denki Kaminari!" Koda attempts to escape the invisible box he was trapped in but failed, "That's a solitary confinement cell, completely impervious to sound!"

"ALRIGHT! KICK THEIR ASSES, SHISHIDA!"  
"YOU GOT IT! JUST LEAVE IT TO MEEE!"

Suddenly Shishida froze, no words leaving his lips. Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at the big screen. "That mask.."

Quickly, Shinsou unwrapped the binding cloth around his neck and was about to strike but Kosei had trapped him in another air box, "TOO SLOW!" He quickly slapped Shishida, "WAKE UP!"

While they were distracted, Kaminari attempts a sneak attack but failed once Shishida snapped out of the brainwash. He attempted to electrocute him using his Quirk but Shishida still managed to grab him and throw him towards metal pipes. He let out painful grunts, trying to get up but failed. A long tongue out of nowhere grabs Kosei while he was in the air, "caught you!" Tsuyu said before wrapping her slimy and long tongue around him before running to their jail cell.

Shishida is finally back to his senses and starts running after Tsuyu, letting out a loud growl. "Are you kiddin' me?! You're supposed to be paralyzed!" Kaminari exclaimed as he watched the beast run. Using Koda's Quirk, he summoned small animals to set him free from his invisible and it worked. Kirishima and Koda blocked the beast's path but Shishida managed to turn back into a human for a quick second which catches the two off guard and turns back into a beast, grabbing them with his big hands.

Shishida sends Kirishima flying in the air, making him land where Shiozaki was. The beast takes Koda in his arms and goes to their cell. They have now captured Kirishima and Koda while they only managed to capture Kosei, leaving it to a 3V3 battle. Tsuyu and Kaminari grabbed pipes and attempted to break the cage Shinsou was trapped in. "Bakugou was able to break these during the sports festival, its definetely gotten a lot stronger."

"(Y/N)," Midoriya called for your name. You break contact with the screen and turn to look at him with your brows raised. "Do you know anything about Shinsou's Quirk that may be able to help us when we're going to face against him later?" He asked. You thought for a while but only ended up shaking your head. "I've never seen him in battle before. My first time seeing it up close was when you both went head to head, I'm sorry I have no use."

He quickly shook his head, "oh no, no, no - don't worry about it! I was just asking." He started looking down at his notes, taking some down. 

Kaminari turned his head to look at Shinsou, "I know this is serious combat training and all, so getting injured is par for the course, but it's impressive that you were able to move in that situation.. you really saved my ass back there."

"I know you said you weren't interested in making friend and all that, but I like you, dude. You're a proper hero-hopeful, just like the rest of us." Shinsou doesn't react but just puts his mask back on, "whatever... more importantly, let's come up with a plan.."

"I've got an idea." Tsuyu looks at them.

Class B stayed together and were on guard. "There's 3 Asuis." Shishida sniffed around while his teammates gives him the same confused look. Kaminari gets caught on one of the vines and was about use his Quirk until Shiozaki wrapped him with vines, restricting any of his electricity to come out. "KEEP GOING AND RESPREAD THE VINES!" Shiozaki nodded, "yes, Shishida's location.." she paused and stopped moving.

"HEY?! THAT WASN'T MY VOICE!" Without realizing, Tsuyu had taken Shiozaki's paralyzed body away and lands a kick on Hiryu, knocking him down. The beast made its way to where Shinsou was and started breaking everything on its path. Using his bind cloth, he wrapped it around a big pipe above Shishida's head before pulling on it, making it land on his head. "DODGE APOCALYPSE!" Hiryu yelled as Tsuyu threw him using her tongue towards Shishida. They both bump into each other which knocks them out.

Shiozaki who was still hypnotized, wrapped her vines around the unconscious Shishida while Tsuyu's tongue and Shinsou's binding cloth were wrapped around Hiryu, dragging them all to the cell. "Far from being slow, you're very powerful, Shinsou." She commented.

They put them all in the cell which makes a buzzer ring, "Not at all... I still have ways to go. I can't always go replying on others like this. I have to become a Pro with my **own** ability."

"IT'S A VICTORY FOR CLASS A AND SHINSOU'S TEAM!"

* * *

"State your reflections, and what you've learned." Aizawa asked them. Kirishima takes his headpiece off, "It's hard to make good use of my Quirk when we're not actually trying to pick a fight with the opponent. If this was the real world, I would've been killed the moment I was captured." He responded.

"I need to become able to issue more detailed orders to insects.." Koda admitted silently. Kaminari raises his two thumbs up, "I was great, don'tcha think? You just can't help but fall for me, can you?! Go ahead, no need to be ashamed! I don't mind!" He said loudly. "NOBODY CAN STOP LOVE, YOU KNOW! I TOTALLY GET IT!"

"I regret losing two teammates. I wanted to win without anyone missing. But it turned into pure chaos." Tsuyu replied. Shinsou fixes the binding cloth wrapped around his neck, "I wasn't even able to apply ten percent of what I learned. It's incredibly frustrating." He squinted his eyes.

"If you were able to do everything immediately, you wouldn't be working so hard. It took me six years t master the binding cloth. Do not forget the frustration you're feeling as you fight your next battle." Aizawa advised which makes Shinsou nod his head, "yes, sir." 

"Kirishima, focus on developing set-ups to lure your opponents into close-range combat. Koda, you're already well aware. Continue thinking about your weak points. Kaminari, you were far too careless in the beginning! Are you incapable of using your abilities without your comrades being taken out first? Asui, rather than dwelling on your mistakes, work on your ability to respond rapidly and cover for them." They all nodded their head in unison.

Monoma skipped towards Shinsou with open arms, "Hey, Shinsou! Let's start developing our plan to leave Class A sobbing in despair!" Shinsou looked at him with a raised brow, not responding. "We'll have to come up with our own countermeasures." Midoriya turned to your team. Since your team were the last ones to fight, your nervousness was kicking in every second that passed.

You got up on your feet and decided to walk somewhere more quiet since peoples' chattering wasn't helping with your overflowing thoughts. Taking a deep breath as you shut your eyes, trying to stay calm. "Found you." You shuddered at the voice before exhaling. You turned around and was greeted by a pair of purple eyes. You let out a chuckle, "I'm surprised you're talking to an opponent. What happened to _"I'm not here to make friends"."_ You quoted with your fingers.

Shinsou playfully rolled his eyes, leaning his back against the wall. "You did amazing back there." You brought up and he just shook his head, "I still lack the skills. Didn't even get to use the techniques I've learnt and I reacted slowly." 

"It's your first battle here, don't look down on yourself too hard." He just heaved a breath and shrugged his shoulders as his hands rest inside his pockets. "Well, we'll be facing against each other later. Show me the techniques you've been working hard on." You offer him your hand and gave him a smile. Chuckling lightly, he takes your hand willingly as you both shook it. You both then went back to the main area and met up with your teams again. Your match was next.

* * *

You and Midoriya used your Quirks to get up on the air. He was moving fast while you were flying. "So Shinsou is with them, right? I'm kind of nervous now. Don't wanna get brainwashed, y'know?" Uraraka shook her head, "we just have to try not to get caught in his grasp. The opposing team is comprised of members who can attack even if we can't see them with the naked eye." She replied.

"I'll be the scapegoat!" Midoriya gets down and landed on his feet. You started hovering down and landed beside Mina. "How are you feeling?" She asked. "You did say you thought your Quirk was acting strangely.." you added. He nodded slowly, "yeah.. there doesn't seem to be anything different, just the same as usual." He looked down at his hand.

"But.. after watching the fourth round, I feel like the opposing team is wary of us. We need to be even more vigilant than ever!" He looked up and gave you all a reassuring smile, "it'll be fine. We'll definitely win this."

"START!"

Right away, Midoriya was walking off and on the walls, trying to see if he could spot someone or someone could spot him. You were keeping it low with Uraraka and Mina, separating from him. 

While keeping on look-out, metal pieces started flying towards your direction. "ACID VEIL!" Mina yelled out loud before using her Quirk to melt the pieces before they could hit anyone. "It's Yanagi's "Poltergeist"." You brought up.

The pieces suddenly got bigger than they originally were. You and Uraraka used both of your Quirks to make them float as Mina dodged them. "That was close," you exhaled. "They might have found our hiding spot. Where's Deku?" Uraraka asked.

While your team decided to run and look for Midoriya, you all stopped your tracks when all your -eyes saw multiple tentacle-looking things in the air and they were pitch black. While your eyes were too fixated on them, they suddenly attacked at your direction,the three of you quickly dodged it. Uraraka quickly made her way towards Midoriya and tells you and Mina to stay where you were.

While you and Mina were running to look for your opponents, you both noticed that the black stuff calmed down. "We should check on them before we do anything else." You looked over at her and she nodded. You both changed the direction you were running at and moved to where Uraraka and Midoriya might be at. 

Jumping out of nowhere, you used your Quirk to quickly take a huge pipe off from the walls and throw it to your opponents that were by Uraraka. It sends them flying and gives you enough time to check up on your teammates. "Midoriya! Uraraka, everything okay?" Mina asked. "They're all here!" She replied. You and Mina jump down where they were all.

"Mina," you called her before aiming your hands towards another large object nearby, lifting it. She looks at you with raised brows. You smirked, "let's show them what we got." Mina smiled widely before nodding her head. You started making smaller object fly towards them while Mina used her Quirk to cover them with her Acid. "ACID SHOT!" She yelled as you proceeded to send them towards them.

Tokage uses her Quirk and makes a tiny piece of broken concrete huge, blocking Mina's attacks. Shoda takes a wheel from the ground and sends it flying to Mina, "TWIN IMPACT!" It was fast but with the use of your Quirk, you quickly made it turn to a different direction, making it bounce all over the place.

Midoriya had grabbed Shinsou's binding cloth, making them both meet each other eye-to-eye now. Midoriya attempt to push Shinsou like how he did in the sports festival. "Seems like the last time we've been able to go against each other.. was during the sports festival!" He said with a wide smile.

Without Midoriya noticing, Shinsou pulled on his binding cloth which makes enormous pipes fall from the ceiling. Midoriya uses the unknown Quirk from a while ago and manages to catch two. The indigo haired male loses his balance but manages on land on his knee. "What are you?!"

"Were you just bluffing the whole time you were struggling? Man, I wish I could take back my mercy!" The black stuff once again disappears and makes Midoriya vulnerable as he looked down on his trembling hand.

He looked back up and saw that Shinsou was making a run for it. "In this situation, brainwashing won't work anymore. I gotta create some distance. Sorry Monoma." Shinsou thought to himself as he used the binding cloth to escape.

While you and Mina continue to battle it out with the rest, Uraraka had successfully capture Monoma. Yanagi, who had the same Quirk as you, sends things flying towards Mina, "All right! If we can just catch one of them, the rest will be a breeze!" She said out loud. "MINA -" a hard punch lands on your stomach as they pinned you down, twisting your wrist as you let out a yelp.

"We got one." You struggled for a while until you saw an opening. You shut your eyes tightly, "haven't tried you in a while since internship but -" you opened your eyes and darted at Yanagi, making her float. It catches her off guard and looks at you. You throw her towards a metal pipe, the back of her head receiving the most impact making her pass out.

"Reiko?!" Uraraka touches Yanagi, making her float in the air and stay there. You were still pinned down against the ground by Shoda. You feel him twist your wrist more, making you squirm. Out of nowhere, Mina lands an uppercut on his jaw, making him fall on his back.

_KLANG!_

"Match 5 is over! There were some pretty close calls.. but with a perfect 4-0.. CLASS A WINS!"

You were catching your breath as Mina patted your back. "Didn't think you still had it in you!" She elbowed you by your stomach which makes you let out a painful grunt. You glared at her, "Mina.." she screamed loudly before hiding behind Uraraka. "That was awesome though (Y/N). You made her fly so far from where she originally was! Have you been good at that this whole time?"

You shook your head, "that was mere luck. I knew I had to do something about her especially with her Quirk.. we both have the same kind. If I didn't do anything, we could've lost."

"With Round 5 complete, this concludes all of the matches! All participants did an excellent job reading not only their opponents, but also themselves. Final result: CLASS A'S VICTORY!" Everyone in your class started cheering happily.

"Sir Aizawa.." Shinsou said in a lower tone than usual as his hands were gripping tightly on the binding cloth. "I couldn't do anything alone. I still lack strength." He admitted. "This was also supposed to serve as my entrance exam too, correct?"

Vlad King's eyes widened, "you knew?!" He asked turning his head back and forth to Shinsou and Aizawa. "No, but.. considering the timing and format of this exercise.."

"In any case, it's time for our assessments. Hurry and return to your position."

"Uhh.. in any case, Midoriya.. what the hell was that?" Aizawa asked. "Was it a new move derived from your Quirk? How does it work?" Midoriya's face was filled with worry. "Well I.. I'm actually not too sure myself. My power overflowed and I wasn't able to suppress it. It felt like all that I had believed in up until now was stripped away. I myself was scared." He looked down at his hand.

"But Uraraka and Shinsou helped stop me, I realized that it wasn't that. If Shinsou wasn't there to use his brainwashing to stop my thoughts I'm not sure what would have happened." He explained further.

"That's right! The way Shinsou took on Midoriya's rampage! And Uraraka's quick reactions! Both are amazing! To use one's own body in order to calm one's friend down. Yes! That's what I love to see!" Midnight commented on. "You did react pretty fact huh, Uraraka? Jumped right on him. **Latched on to him pretty hard too, didn't you?** " You noticed how Uraraka's face was turning as red as a tomato you sighed and pulled Mina away from her.

"I just jumped without thinking, though I suppose I could've thought it through a bit more.. but I think.. it was better doing nothing and.. regretting it later." She looked down as her fingers started fidgeting. "You're grown a lot, Uraraka." Aizawa said to her.

"I didn't actually do it just because of you, Midoriya." Shinsou suddenly spoke out. "I was just following Uraraka's instructions or rather.. I saw that Yanagi and the others were being attacked by that black thing, and knew that our chances of winning would be slim if that thing wasn't stopped. I stopped it because, I wanted to fight you and win. It all happened by chance. I was only thinking about myse -"

Aizawa stepped forward and pulled on Shinsou's binding cloth, making him choke. Everyone looked at them with worried and shocked eyes. Aizawa lets go, "no one was expecting you to go that far. Everyone here has been training hard every day to be a hero that can save someone. Anyone who can get there instantly would be an all might-level genius. You won't be able to save anyone if you're only thinking of others. You can't help others if you don't have the power to help yourself."

"With that in mind, your actions were more than enough to pass." His eyes widened. "Shinsou at the end, when you led me into a one-on-one, you were trying to fight me with your own specialty right? You were so quick to stop my movement with the pipes plus the way you used the cloth was almost identical to sir Aizawa!"

"To be honest, in the first match, I thought you were just drawing off the team's power.. but in the end, that wasn't all. Your movement and situational analysis skills aren't inderior to anyone else here in the Hero Department! It was amazing!" Shinsou's grip on the binding cloth tightened. 

"If we're going to talk about the strength that others can reply on.. it's me who's not there yet." Aizawa nodded, "indeed."

"Shinsou will join the Hero Department starting his second year. Nobody here better dare to take him on half-heatedly!" Everyone started cheering wildly. "WHICH CLASS?! A OR B?!"

"We're not at that point yet. We still have more review left." 

You ran over to Shinsou and started jumping happily in front of him. "YOU DID IT! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" You exclaimed loudly with the biggest smile on your face. Shinsou hasn't said a word at all and his eyes were still wide. "I'm so happy for you, holy shit." Out of instinct, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug as you were on your toes. Slowly, Shinsou wrapped his arms around your waist as his head rests on your shoulder, hearing a sigh leave his lips as he does.

He was still silent, but you can tell he was overwhelmed. Letting him go after, you smack his shoulder lightly, "guess there will be a chance the two of us will be classmates." Shinsou nodded his head slowly. While you were about to call over your friends, he pulled you back in his arms once again. "(Y/N)," you raised your eyebrows and hummed. "Thank you.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you guys have trouble understanding this chapter i'm really sorry (will re-check soon for typos)


	16. First Call

Right after the match against Class A and B, the two classes decided to throw a party in Class A's dorm. Everyone was bonding and having fun with each other, it was a completely different environment from earlier. 

"(Y/N) wanna join Twister with us?" Mina asked you but you shook your head lightly, "I'll pass. I just finished eating anyway." They all nodded before starting their game. While everyone was doing their own thing you couldn't stop thinking about Shinsou. 

"Shinsou isn't here?" Iida asked Kaminari and he just shrugged, "we invited him but he said he was busy and had other plans." You overheard their conversation and decided to take a closer look at their game of Twister since you didn't have anything better to do anyway. "Do you know what Shinsou is up to, (Y/N)?" They asked out of nowhere.

You shook your head, "haven't heard from him either. He must be tired, he did have two matches." While they were distracted by the game, you decided to take your phone out and message him.

**You**  
_hey you good? just checking up on you since i heard you cancelled the invitation_

You put your phone back inside your pocket when he didn't read your text, taking a sip from the cup you were holding. You figured Shinsou wasn't necessarily a party type of person, heck you were pretty sure everyone knew that. While drifting away from your thoughts you felt your device vibrate. Taking it out once again as you read his response.

**Toshi**  
_parties aren't my thing, enjoy though_

**You**  
_come on you should be celebrating! didn't you just pass? don't tell me you're training_

While looking at the chat bubble as he typed, you started wondering how long has Shinsou been training for. His form was completely different since the sports festival, hes gotten more toned than ever. 

**Toshi**  
_i'm just chilling in my room, didn't get to practice today since sir Aizawa advised me not to_

**You**  
_want me to come over?_

**Toshi**  
_what about the party?_

**You**  
_i'm alright with ditching it, they're just playing games now and talking and i'm feeling kinda bored anyway_

**You**  
_so what do you say?_

"(Y/N), do we still have any sodas left?" Kirishima asked. You looked up from your phone, "last time I checked there was, check the fridge." The red head nodded and walked away. You looked down on your phone again,

**Toshi**  
_can't leave the dorm rn since it's about to be 9PM soon and you remember last time_

**Toshi**  
_wanna call?_

**You**  
_sure, give me a minute_

You put the cup you were holding in the sink before making your way up the steps. Nobody noticed you leaving anyway so you were good to go. Entering your room, you closed the door behind you. You went towards your bag and took out your earphones, laying on your stomach on your bed as you plugged them in.

**Toshi** is calling . . .  
_Accept | Decline_

You cleared your throat before accepting the call. Right when you pressed it, that was when you realized this was the first time you've ever called with Shinsou. The call had an awkward silence at first, making you sweat a little bit. You didn't know what to say for some reason and you felt like Shinsou was feeling the same way.

He cleared his throat, "hello?" You snapped out of your thoughts, "h-hi!" You stuttered before you slapped your forehead lightly. He heard the slap and let out a short laugh, "so how's the party?" 

"It's going well, but I got tired of it after a while." You decided to flip over and now you were laying on your back, facing the ceiling. "How come?" He asked. You shrugged your shoulders lightly, "I don't know to be honest. This sounds embarrassing, but I was worried about you." Shinsou lifts a brow, "worried about me? For what?" He chuckled.

"When sir Aizawa announced that you will be joining the Hero Course next school year, I knew you were happy and overwhelmed but I was worried since it felt like that announcement made you malfunction and stop working." Your words managed to make him laugh, "sorry, I was just caught off guard. Didn't think I would pass to be honest."

You scoffed, "wouldn't pass? Toshi, you did **amazing**! Everyone was shocked at your skills and how much you've improved in just a few months." He heaved a breath, "still, I need to be independent. My team had to carry me and if it weren't for them, I would've been captured the first second."

"You're too hard on yourself." He didn't respond which makes you sit up, scratching the back of your head, "I don't know if my words will have an effect on you, but you really do have so much potential. Everyone sees it and.." you cleared your throat, "I hope you'll see it one day too." 

The call gets silent for a while. You didn't know if he just muted you or passed out while calling. "Thanks." 

Your eyes widened for a bit before your expression softens, "no problem." You smiled lightly. "You were pretty good too, y'know." He added. You let out a laugh, "we didn't even get to fight. I was looking forward to brawling with you." Although you two were calling, you could feel him rolling his eyes at you which makes you smile wider.

"Well, now that I'll be in the Hero Course, that might be possible. You better work hard, I won't go easy on you after all." Laying back down as you rolled your eyes, "you don't need to go easy on me for me to win and that's a fact." He chuckled, "we'll see." 

The call started flowing more nicely compared to the first 2 minutes and before you two even noticed, you have been calling for hours.

"Well, I didn't really think much about it. Just thought it was normal." He scoffed, "you thought eating bugs was normal?" He let out a laugh. "Well that is how he activated his Quirk in middle school. It was weird but you have to admit it's kinda cool if you think about it. It's like Tamaki Amajiki's Manifest Quirk."

"It's still disgusting." Shrugging your shoulders, "it is but personally I -" your door opens which makes you pause. 

"What are you doing?" Mina asked. You unplug one of your earphones off from your ear, "I'm in a call. Sorry was I disturbing you?" She looks at you with a raised brow, "with who?" Before you could reply, her eyes suddenly widened as her lips parted, nodding slowly.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" You asked. She shook her head, "it's okay (Y/N) I'll take care of your **garden.** You are so responsible, kind, thoughtful, loving -" you noticed the change of her tone making you whisper, "what are you doing?"

Mina gives you a thumbs up. "I'm going now!" Her tone was stiff as ever before she finally leaves your room. Facepalming, you plugged the earphone back in, "sorry about that where was I?" 

"Before that, what's this about a garden?" You sighed, rubbing your temple, "I don't know either." 

"Ah shit, it's about to be 12AM soon. I'm really sorry." You quickly shook your head, "what are you apologizing for?" You let out a laugh. He shrugged his shoulders, "because you have other things to do?" 

"Surprisingly not. Hey Shinsou," you heard him let out a hum. "What are you doing when school ends? Are you going on vacation?" He thought for a while before replying. "Most likely gonna stay at home again and spend time with my cats and train more. What about you?" 

"Haven't gone on vacation in years so probably the same thing. Except for the cat thing - oh wait," he lifts his purple brows up. "Why don't I come visit your place one day? I want to meet your cats!" 

"Hmm.. I don't know." He let out an unsure sound. "Please? Even if I'll just be outside and look through the window." Shinsou couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head lightly and a smile appeared on his lips, "why do you want to meet my cats so badly?" 

"Am I not allowed to? I just want to see and meet 'em unless that's too much." He shook his head, "no, no. I don't mind." He couldn't get himself to say it but he has never had guests over at his place. A friend rather. 

"If I get you to meet my cats, then promise to watch a movie with me." 

"What's with you and movies?" You laughed and nodded, "sure thing. It's a deal."

* * *

It was only a week til your final exams which means your first year of high school were almost done. You and your classmates have all collectively agreed that this has to be the fastest school year that has ever happened in your lives. "That concludes your assignment for today, class dismissed." Midnight announces and the bell rings shortly after. While packing your things for lunch she calls you by the door. You make eye contact with your friends and tell them to wait, making your way to her.

"Yes, miss Midnight?" You looked at her with raised brows. Midnight lets out a chuckle before smacking your shoulder lightly, holding onto it with a gentle squeeze, "how are you feeling?" Still confused, you scratched the back of your head and nodded lightly, "I'm feeling okay, I guess. Why are you suddenly asking?" 

"Well, as your mentor it's good to see that my student is improving more and more as time passes. I remember when you couldn't lift anyone up without feeling lightheaded and such." She laughed. Laughing nervously, you nod your head, "I guess you're right. I couldn't have done that without you amazing teachers though. Thank you for being patient with me." You bowed to her lightly. She scoffed as she waved her hand around, "give yourself some credit too. Anyways, I expect to see you again next school year, but stronger than before."

You give her a big smile, "I won't let you down, miss Midnight." You both exchanged your goodbyes and you made it back to your friends who were still waiting. "Sorry about that, you guys should've just went ahead." They shook their head in unison, "it's fine. What did she talk to you about?" You all started walking out of the classroom and made your way to the cafeteria.

"She just said that she's happy for my improvements and expects me to come back stronger." Mina gasped before sighing, "man I'm jealous. Midnight is such a good mentor to you." You give her a raised brow, "and yours isn't to you? Actually, I'd see why. Nevermind then," she started yelling at you while you laughed uncontrollably. "That reminds me, what are you guys planning on doing once school is over?" Jirou asked.

"My family and I will be going on a trip overseas." Momo replied with while everyone silently said to themselves, "we saw that one coming." Mina leans forward, making her shoulder droop, "probably going to spend time with my family again. Hey, why don't we all hangout some time? Like go to malls, sleepovers. etc!"

"I'm down." Jirou nodded and Tsuyu did the same. "I'm not sure with my schedule yet, but sure! I'll go." Uraraka replied with a big smile. "What about you (Y/N)? You coming or do you already have plans?" You shook your head, "no I don't have any, at least I think so. Same reply with Uraraka, I'm not sure with my schedule yet but if I don't have plans I can go." You all finally arrived at the cafeteria and sat down at a vacant table.

You took your food from the counter and sat down, putting your meal down in front of you on the table. "Oh yeah I forgot to ask, is Midnight making you do internship during the break?" You put your utensils down and wiped your lips off with a piece of tissue, "I asked her about it but she said it would be best if I rested the whole break especially after every thing we've been through." You sighed, "I really wanted to help her out but she refused."

"That's considerate of her. What about you Uraraka and Tsuyu? Did Ryukyu say anything?" They both looked at each other, "nope she said the same thing as Midnight. It's best if we take things easy for now." Jirou let out a laugh, "I still can't believe all three of you with Midoriya and Kirishima went undercover on that mission and didn't tell any of us." Mina nodded, "I was surprised when I heard the news!"

"Still mad at (Y/N) for not telling me though." She crossed her arms and pouted. You eyes and mouth widened before smacking the back of her head, "I don't want to have this conversation with you again." Mina rubbed the part you had just hit, "I KNOW, I KNOW, I WAS JUST KIDDING -"

You spent the remaining time left with your friends at the cafeteria until it was time to head back to your classrooms.

* * *

Since you all were transferring dorms next school year and only had a week left, it was time to pack your belongings and head back home until it was time to move back in next year. Everyone had boxes ready, laundry was increasing, and some of their furniture was already outside waiting to be claimed by the delivery trucks.

You had decided to pack up the items on your shelves first and decided to pack your clothes the day before your leave. Luckily you didn't bring much things like the others so it wasn't that difficult for you to move out and pack up especially with the use of your Quirk. While packing for your things, your phone made a _Ding!_ sound. You took it from the desk and unlocked it.

**Toshi**  
_wanna go get ice cream?_

You looked around your room and you were pretty much done packing your belongings. You looked back at your phone and started to type.

**You**  
_sure but don't we need to write a letter?_

**Toshi**  
_i already asked sir Aizawa and he said it's okay just make it quick_

**You**  
_alrighty, i'll meet you outside then_

You closed the boxes before leaving your room, closing the door behind you before you made your way downstairs. Some of your classmates were at the common area, all gathered by the couch. Iida who was moving a big box sees you in the corner of his eye, "where are you going (Y/N)?" He asked. You held onto the doorknob, "I'm going to meet up with a friend. I'll be back soon." 

You left the dorm and saw that Shinsou was already nearby. You knew if you mentioned ice cream to them it would be a whole fiasco so you decided to keep your mouth shut. He waved his hand towards you and you waved back. "Shall we go?" You nodded your head.

While the two of you were walking outside of U.A.'s gates, you stretched your arms in the air and let out a breath, smiling widely. "Can't believe school ends in a week and we'll be in our second year of high school in no time." You turned to look at him, "so did they tell you what class you'll be in?" He let out a short laugh, smiling to himself, "if they did would I tell you though?"

You stopped your steps and give him an offended look. "You're so fucking mean." You cussed at him and as usual he smiled it off. You both had arrived at the convenience store. Shinsou opens the door for you and you entered first, walking to the ice cream section. "Find anything you want?" He asked. You looked down before leaning forward, trying to see if any flavor interested you.

While you were too focused on looking for the right one, Shinsou was smiling to himself as he observed you getting all worked up over ice cream. Turning your head to face him, "what about you?" He shrugged his shoulders, "I already have something in mind." You cussed to yourself silently before trying to look again. You were stuck between going with something classic (milk flavored) or choosing something you've never tried before.

"Excuse me," a random voice came up which makes you snap out of your thoughts. Quickly, taking a step back to let the person pass. You bowed your head slightly, "sorry." While you were about to turn around to face Shinsou the strange voice suddenly called your name making your eyes wide.

"Is that really you (Y/N)?" You lift your head up and face the person. Before your jaw could drop, you stopped it, "K-Kim?" The taller female nodded with a big smile on her face before she pulls you into a tight hug. "I haven't seen you since middle school." While hugging you, her eyes landed on Shinsou making her let out a gasp.

Letting you go, "Sh-Shinsou? This is some weird coincidence. Did you two bump into each other here too?" You and Shinsou exchange looks before you let out a nervous laugh, "we actually came here together.." she blinked a few times, looking back at you and Shinsou over and over again. It was like she stopped working.

"Are you two.." she pointed at the two of you with her fingers, her brows furrowed. You shook your head, "we're just friends." Kim lets out a relieved breath which makes you lift a brow up. She wrapped her arm around your shoulders, "how did you two become friends? Neighbors? Co-workers in part time?" 

"We actually go to the same schoo -" she gasped once again but this time even louder, "Shinsou goes to U.A.?" You looked over to him and notice that he was no longer looking at your direction. He kept his hands inside his pockets and was avoiding all possible contact. "Enough about us, what brings you here Kim?" You changed the topic quickly.

She lets go of you and placed her hands on her hips, "just came back from school and thought I would stop by here on my way home." You nodded your head, "you still live in this area, I see." Kim smiled widely before she pats your back, "I'm glad I got to see you again, (Y/N)."

You raised your brows, looking around. "M-Me too?" You didn't mean for it to sound like a question. "When is your school ending? Let's catch up. Here, put your number on my phone so we can talk more." Everything came hitting you like a train, your thoughts were scattered and you didn't know what was happening. "It-It ends next wee -"

"Good! Why don't we hangout during break then? I would like for us to catch up and get to know each other more." Kim hands you her phone and you stared at it blankly at first. You looked at Shinsou who was still avoiding all possible contact. Hesitantly, you put your number down before giving her phone back to her. Smiling widely, she takes the phone from you.

"It's so good to see you again. I'll send you a text later!" She takes an ice cream from the freeze and waves you goodbye. Forcing a smile, you waved back at her as you watched her pay in the counter and leave the store. The moment the door closed behind her, a wave of relief came crashing on you. Your shoulders felt light and it felt like you could finally breathe.

Turning to Shinsou who was finally looking back at you. "I'm sorry about that." He shook his head and walked up to the freezer, taking an ice cream out. "Just get one and let's head back. Sir Aizawa might be mad if we take any longer." Nodding your head, you decided to take the milk flavored ice cream. Shinsou takes the ice cream in your hands and pays for it in the counter.

You both left the store and he hands you your ice cream. "I was planning on paying for both of us." You brought up before opening the plastic wrapper. Shinsou let out a chuckle, "good thing I got to it first." He said and started eating the ice cream. You both started walking back to U.A. but this time it was silent. You kept looking at him through your peripheral vision and tried to think of a conversation.

"Why did you.. give your number to her?" He sounded very hesitant. You sighed before shrugging your shoulders lightly, "felt like I had to or else she wouldn't leave us alone." Shinsou nodded slowly, "but you do know she's going to bother you more now that you gave her your number." He pointed at you with his ice cream cone. Letting out another sigh, "I know.."

"I have no right to say this but.." he paused for a second and hesitated if he should even say it. "You can say it, I don't mind." Shinsou nodded, "if I'm correct.. Kim. She was the girl that made you overwork yourself, right? Which led to.. is this the same Kim or am I mistaken?" Nodding your head in defeat, "yeah.. that was her."

You two finally made it back to your dorm. "Text me if anything happens. I'll call you later, alright?" You nodded and waved goodbye to each other. Right when he walked away, you had already gotten a message.

Opening your phone, you looked at the recent notification.

**Unknown Number**  
_hey this is Kim! : )_


	17. Paths Collide

"So basically, I was standing there minding my own business until a guy from another class called me by my name." You nodded your head as you continued to write down your notes, humming in response. "And out of nowhere they started asking me questions about the entrance exam that I took to be accepted in the hero course. I didn't reply at first since how did they know? And I didn't expect a sudden interaction."

You hummed once again, ensuring Shinsou that you were listening to his story. "And he started getting all touchy feely with me." Your brow quirked upward as you let out a chuckle, "define touchy feely for me. I need to hear it from you." He groaned, "you get what I mean." Putting your pen down as you stretched your arms in the air, "do I think inappropriately or?" You teased which makes him scoff.

"You're the embodiment of disgusting, I hope you know that." You rolled your eyes at him. "He just wrapped his arm around my shoulder and started walking with me. I haven't even seen him anywhere. Not even in the sports festival, I think." Your phone makes a _Ding!_ sound, you lift your phone up to your face closely and let out a groan, putting it down right away as you rub your face in frustration.

Confused, Shinsou lifts his eyebrows, "what happened?" Shaking your head, "it's nothing, don't worry about it." You looked at the notification as you sunk lower and lower on the seat you were sitting on. "Did Kim text you again?" Nodding your head, "yeah," you can tell Shinsou was getting frustrated too when you heard him let out a sigh, "you know you can just block her and call it a day."

"Isn't that too.. mean? I mean, what if we bump into each other again? I can't handle that awkwardness I'd rather die." Shinsou started humming, trying to think of another solution. "Text her that you're still not comfortable with her around and you can't be friends with her just yet. Say that in a more kinder way if you'd like. You can't keep talking to people you're not comfortable around. Mean or not, you have every right to be."

You looked down at your phone, trying to think of something to reply with. "What did she say?" You looked at the notification but didn't click on it. You read her message out loud.

**Kim**  
_how are you? i'm glad you replied!_

"I'm glad you replied? Does that means she knows that you're not comfortable with her around or," you shrugged your shoulders before putting your phone down again, "I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe shes changed and I'm overthinking." You can tell Shinsou wasn't liking every thing you were saying at the moment since he just let out a faint grunt sound once you finished your sentence.

"I shouldn't misunderstand her just yet. I'll give it some time." You continued. "Mhm," Shinsou simply said thru the call and you can feel the judgement from where you were seated. "Okay, would it make you happier if I said that if she does anything I'm not comfortable with or like, I'll block and avoid her immediately. Is that good?"

"Hmm.. you know what I noticed about you," you raised your eyebrows and waited for him to finish. "For a girl that's seen as strong, independent, hard working, always speaks on whatever is on her mind, and always fights for what's right- you still suck at situations like these." He fired at you which makes you choke on your own saliva. 

Coughing, "did you really need to grab me by the throat like that?" Shinsou let out a laugh making you smile lightly. "So what are you planning on replying to her? Actually no, how long do you think will it take you to reply?" He joked and you playfully roll your eyes at him. "Very funny, Toshi. But what do I really respond with.." you whispered the last part to yourself but Shinsou heard it loud and clear.

"You're on your own on this one, I can't help you. You got yourself into this mess." You groaned loudly, "please? I just don't know how to start this right now." You heard Shinsou place something down, "maybe answer her question and ask her how she's doing is the best choice to make." 

"R-Right.." you started typing exactly what Shinsou told you. "Hey Shinsou, why do you hate Kim so much? Did she do anything to you in middle school too?" 

_"Is she for real right now?"_ He thought to himself. "Nothing in particular but from what she did to **you** in middle school and how uncomfortable she made you and I in the convenience store, that's enough for me to stay away from her as far as possible." He explained briefly. You leaned back on the chair, finally pressing send.

**You**  
_i'm doing fine! wby?_

You felt at ease once the message was delivered. "What are you doing right now?" He asked you. "Are you done with your homework?" You nodded your head, "I'm pretty much done with everything. What about you?" He let out a deep sigh, "this project is killing my neck." 

"Would you like me to send you this video on how to stop your neck from aching? It helped me a lot." He let out a chuckle, "sure. Send away." You grabbed your phone and started looking for the video that you have saved. You remembered studying for exams and due to sitting by your desk for too long your neck started hurting really badly.

Right when you sent the video link to Shinsou you got another message.

**Kim**  
_i'm doing great! it sounds cheesy but my day got 10x better when i bumped into you today_

"Fuck how am I supposed to respond to that?" You accidentally said out loud instead of keeping it in your thoughts. "She replied? What did she say?" He asked as you started reading her message out loud. "Toshi what should I reply." You whined like a child, feeling him rolling his eyes at you. "What did I tell you again? You're on your own on this one."

You pouted lightly, looking down at Kim's text. Shinsou snickered lowly, "I mean you could tell her 'same' while you're at it." He joked. Letting out a groan, "this isn't funny Toshi." He shrugged his shoulders, "not like I can do anything about your situation. I'm just a spectator."

At first you didn't think he was serious about the whole "you're on your own" thing but you were pretty much convinced that he wasn't joking about anything that involves Kim. "It's getting late you should go to bed." You told him as you turned your lamp off and made your way towards your bed, plopping down.

"No can do, I'm not done with my project yet. You should go to sleep though since you're done with your homework and all." You sighed, nodding your head slowly, "right.." 

"In that case, goodnight. Sleep well, don't overthink this situation too much." 

"Night. And please get some decent sleep for once. Finish that project of yours already, it's getting late." He laughed, "yes mom." You both said your final goodbyes before ending the call. The moment it ends you dropped your phone on your side and rested your arm on top of your eyes, heaving a heavy breath.

Shinsou wasn't wrong though. You knew that but didn't want to admit it. Kim was probably the last person you expected to bump into. Your last interaction wasn't even the greatest to begin with so it was a complete shock to you that she could even look you in the eyes.

When you passed out due to exhaustion for the first time in middle school, you never thought for one second that it was Kim's fault. You two became inseparable in just two days of knowing each other and you thought she was a genuine and kind person. You couldn't see how she treated you like the others did. You were too blinded on the friendship you craved so much to not realize what was actually going on.

In your eyes, you always thought Kim was very supportive. She would always show your Quirk off to everyone around you and would bring it up to literally anyone. You weren't bothered by it since you loved your Quirk as much as she did, but as time passed it seemed like she loved your Quirk more than you did. It was like an obsession of hers.

_"I wish I had your Quirk." You looked up at her with wide eyes, not knowing what to respond to that. Kim's Quirk made her able to climb up walls and stick to any surface with just a command. You gave her a friendly smile, "thank y -"_

_"Why do you have it and not me?" She catches you off guard, making you dead silent. At the time, to you it didn't really mean anything. That was the only time Kim has ever said something like that about your Quirk. After that interaction, she continued to act friendly towards you as if nothing ever happened. Because of her doing that, you decided to forget about it as well._

_"She's my friend! I'm her only friend!" She kept repeating as everyone watched you float in the air with pink dusted lightly on your cheeks. You were never an attention hungry person so the more people that watched you, it made you feel uneasy and uncomfortable. "She can make anyone float too!" Just like that everyone started raising their hands in the air, "me, me, me, me!" They all said at once._

That would happen every single day. There was never a day where she didn't show you off to people. Yes, it tired you but seeing Kim smile and happy was what kept you going. 

_Growing up, it was always never hard for you to make friends. You had a lot, but kept those close to you more important. Kim's jealousy was only getting worse when more and more people would approach you to ask you more about your Quirk. Your Quirk wasn't necessarily unique and rare, but it was powerful compared to the others. Usually there's a limit where they can only lift small objects and wouldn't be able to lift a human._

_But in your case, you were able to move almost anything which was enough for people to get interested right away. They would ask you to lift many things like their bags, water bottles, almost everything. It was fun and games at first until people started telling you to make them fly around the place. You'd get exhausted and drained, but Kim would always find a reason to guilt trip you._

_"What's the hold up? People are looking at you weirdly." She whispered to you silently. "Kim, I can't do this anymore. M-My hands.. they're -" she cuts you off with a click of her tongue, "I don't want to hear it right now. People are waiting and I'm getting embarrassed waiting for you." With a nod of your head, you continued._

That cycle went on and on for a month and a half before your body finally shut down on you. That was the last time you heard from Kim before she started surrounding herself with new friends and completely ditched you. You always thought it was your fault. As time passed you started blaming yourself for losing a close friend, blaming yourself that your body shut down on you, blamed yourself that your Quirk got weaker.

* * *

You opened your eyes and let out a groan, checking the time on your phone. 

5:49AM

With that, you sat up and looked around your half empty room. Exams were right in the corner which means school ends in just a few days from now. You walked out of your room and coincidentally bumped into Momo in the hallway. "Morning," you greeted her with a wave and she did the same. "You're up early today."

"Had a rough night." You both went down the steps together and decided to start making breakfast. "Are you excited for summer?" Momo asked you and hands you eggs. You take them for her and start cracking them inside a bowl, "kind of. I just can't want to have no assignments, rest, and train on my own." You answered and started scrambling the eggs with chopsticks.

Heaving a breath as she leaned back on the counter, "our first year of high school is finally coming to an end." You let out a laugh, "feels like I've been in high school for years but it also feels like I just started a few days ago." You prepare the pans and placed them on the stove. Momo nodded her head and agreed. Not long after a group of people came down the stairs.

"Morning," you and Momo greeted Iida, Sero, and Jirou. "Oh you guys started with breakfast already?" You nodded, "I'm just making scrambled eggs. What would you guys like to eat though?" Sero sat on a seat by the counter and leaned forward, "this will be (Y/N)'s last time cooking for us." He brought up with a smile. You shook your head lightly, "you guys are saying things as if we won't be back next school year."

"We still have the next few days, do you guys want me to go that badly?" You joked and started cooking the eggs. "Why is everyone exceptionally early today? Am I missing something?" Iida asked which makes everyone exchange looks and shrugged lightly. They started helping with the preparation for breakfast. School wasn't happening in two hours but you and your classmates decided to spend some time together.

You headed inside your room again and took your uniform and towel with you. All night you have been dreaming about Kim and whatever happened back in middle school. Before walking out of your room to head to the bathroom, you had the sudden urge to tell Shinsou about your dream. You thought about it for a while before giving in.

**You**  
_had a weird dream it was memories playing back from middle school_

**You**  
_they were mainly centered on Kim though_

It was still pretty early so you left your phone in your room, assuming that he was still sleeping. You walked out of your room and went to the bathroom downstairs.

* * *

It was already lunch break and instead of eating with your friends, Shinsou had texted you earlier that day asking if you wanted to eat lunch with him but for some reason he mentioned to meet him in the garden. Luckily you packed lunch with you today so you didn't have to go to the cafeteria. "You're not coming?" You shook your head, "Shinsou invited me to eat with you."

The moment those words left your lips all of them gave you the same look on their faces. Sighing, "can you guys go away? It's not like that." They teased you for a bit before finally leaving the classroom. You took our your lunchbox from your bag and made your way to the garden where Shinsou was waiting.

"Sorry if I took so long." You apologized to him as he just nodded his head simply. You gestured to the vacant spot beside him on the bench, "go ahead." You sat down and started looking around, admiring the view. "Is this where you eat your lunch?" You asked him as you opened your lunchbox.

He shook his head, "not really. I just go here to think or if I need to be alone for a while." Shinsou takes a bite from the sandwich in his hand and chews quietly. "Is that really your lunch?" You give him a shocked look and he just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want to bring a tray all the way here."

You sighed and took a spoonful of everything in your lunchbox, "here." He looks at you before looking at the spoon filled with food. You place the spoon gently into Shinsou's mouth before taking it out, "how is it?" He chewed for a while before pointing at your lunch, "did you make all that?"

You nodded your head with a big smile plastered on your face, "yup! Is it good?" You raised a brow at him. He nodded his head, "exceptionally good. I didn't know you could cook." You took a spoonful and ate it, "you never asked." You smiled lightly at him and chewed on your food.

You had made fried rice, using leftovers from the past few days and adding your own little flair to it. The side dish was shrimp with sweet and sour sauce. 

At first you didn't get why Shinsou chose the garden of all places but the longer you stayed there, you saw the reason why. It was more peaceful than the library and less crowded. Not to mention the beautiful scenery. Shinsou sat there beside you silently as he dozed off from his thoughts. You heard a faint grumble from his stomach which makes him snap out of it. His cheeks were dusted with a shade of pink as he looked away, hiding his embarrassed face.

You laughed lightly before handing your lunchbox to him. "You can have it, I'm full already." He turned to look at you with a doubtful look, not buying your words. Rolling your eyes, you placed the lunchbox on his lap, "finish it." Shinsou was stoic as ever, looking at you with a blank expression. You did the same to him before he finally gave in, eating your lunch.

"Has Kim messaged you today?" He suddenly brought up. You leaned back and stretched your arms, "nope. I didn't even respond to her last night, I ended up passing out thinking of what to say." Shinsou gently flicks your head with his finger, "idiot." 

"It's not like she'll get mad at me. What else would I possibly say back to her? 'oh yeah same, i feel the same too'? I may have dug my own grave on this one but I don't plan on going any deeper than I already am." You crossed your legs and arms, pouting to yourself as you start thinking. Shinsou eyes you for a while, knowing completely well that you were thinking deeply again.

He gathers every last piece from your lunch with the spoon and hovers it towards your mouth. You snapped out of your thoughts and looked at him. "You take the last bite." He offered. You open your mouth and he puts the spoon filled with food in gently. You leaned away and chewed, "thanks," you said with still food in your mouth, making him laugh lightly. 

"You're an actual child." He says and removes pieces of rice in the corner of your lips. The feeling of Shinsou's delicate fingers touching your face made you blush lightly, getting lost in his dark purple orbs once again. You haven't looked at Shinsou's eyes like this in a long time you realized. You smiled to yourself, _"they're even more beautiful than I remembered."_ You thought.

"Is something the matter?" He asked you, giving you a worried look. You shook your head lightly, taking the lunchbox from him. "I just remembered something." You give him a gentle smile. "Shall we head back?" Shinsou nodded his head before you two started walking back to the building.


	18. Final Exam

Your eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, making it almost impossible for you to stay up and study. It'll be the first day of exams tomorrow and you've studied all afternoon ever since you came back from school. You felt your head lowering slowly but you'd quickly snap out of it.

Slapping your cheeks lightly, trying to stay awake. You heaved a breath and looked at the clock. **11:57PM**

"I'll study for 2 more hours, then I'll go to bed." You told yourself and stood up from your seat. You decided to head downstairs and prepare yourself a cup of coffee- you weren't a big fan of it because of its bitterness, but that drink should be enough to keep you awake for a while, right? When you arrived in the kitchen you had bumped into Midoriya.

Your eyes widened at shock, you didn't expect anyone to be up at this hour but yourself. He sees you and gives you a light smile, "you're still up studying too, huh?" You nodded your head before taking a mug out of the cupboard. "What are you doing in the kitchen?" You asked him, taking out instant coffee from a drawer and started heating up water.

"I just needed some fresh air. Would've stayed in the couch but.." he lets out a nervous laugh which makes you avert your eyes to the couches. Mina, Kirishima, and Kaminari were all passed out, others were on the couch while the others were passed out cold on the ground. You couldn't help but chuckle, notebooks and papers were scattered on the coffee table while they snored in unison.

The water was done, you put some instant coffee in your mug before adding the boiling water, stirring it with a spoon. "Didn't see you as the type to like coffee -" you took a quick whiff of the drink and immediately felt like throwing up. The only coffee available was dark coffee which you dreaded so much. Midoriya noticed your change of expression and laughs.

"I'm okay with it, but I just need something to keep me awake for a while." You continued to stir it, silently wishing it would somehow get sweeter. "What if you add sugar or milk?" The green haired suggested. You shook your head and pull the cup closer to your face, smelling it again. "This is the best way I can stay up. It works every time. If I make it sweet or something I enjoy, it'll make me sleepy or somewhat.. satisfied."

"So it's like a punishment to yourself?" Your eyes widened before nodding in defeat, "you make it sound bad but I guess you could say that." You felt the coffee getting warmer, you blew into the cup before taking a sip, shutting your eyes closed. Midoriya started looking down at his notes, studying it.

"I'm always fascinated by you, (Y/N)." Midoriya suddenly lets out. You stop drinking and put the cup of coffee down, wiping the edge of your lips with your fingers. "What do you mean by that exactly, Midoriya?" You raised your eyebrows. His face suddenly gets extremely red, both of his hands started waving violently as he took a lot of steps away from you. "I didn't mean it like that I swear! I uhh - I was actually talking about your Quir - I'M SORRY!" He bowed, his head down low to avoid your gaze. 

You were silent for a while before a laugh escaped your lips. "It's okay, I get it." You chugged the whole drink down your system, putting it down on the sink and started washing it. "I do want to know what you meant by _fascinated_." You can feel Midoriya getting tensed as his voice gets higher than it usually is.

"It's your Quirk and you in general." He answered. It took you a while to respond since you were trying to think. He cleared his throat, "I just.. didn't expect you to be the way you are if I had to be honest." You felt your brow raised, eyes still focused on the mug you were washing. "When I saw you in the classroom, I had always thought you were intimidating and.. hard working."

"And I wasn't wrong about those things. You are hard working, and if I had to be honest you still kinda are intimidating. But that's because you don't want to be looked down upon right?" Your body suddenly freezes, the tab still running. He notices and quickly started bowing, "I'm sorry again - I should just shut up -"

You turn the sink off and placed the mug at the side for it to dry, "you're not wrong. With this Quirk of mine, for all my life I knew I was lucky to even have it to be this powerful. My Quirk is pretty common you could say, but it's.. indeed much stronger compared to the rest. I can't let this strong of a Quirk go to waste.." you turn to your side and finally face the boy. 

"Which is why I'm not losing to you, Midoriya." He froze for a while before nodding his head, giving you a smile back. "And I won't lose to you, (Y/N)." You wave each other goodbye before you start heading back to your room. You don't know Midoriya as much as Uraraka, Iida, and Bakugou do but, you knew for a fact he was just as powerful and was a strong opponent.

**_"I won't lose."_ **

* * *

"Pens down, pass your papers forward." Aizawa announces. You stretch your arms, feeling your lids getting heavy as you let out a yawn. You stack your paper up on top of Tsuyu's before passing it to Sero. The moment the teacher left the room, everyone let out relieved sighs. "Did you finish answering, (Y/N)?" You turned around and nodded, "finished it 10 minutes before the bell rang. Did you?"

Tsuyu nodded, "I finished just in time." Both of your head slowly move towards Mina. She looked at you both, "what - YOU GUYS ARE MEAN!" She stood up from her seat and yelled loudly. "Did you finish?" You looked up at her and asked with half lidded eyes. She placed her fingers on her chin, a smirk plastered on her lips as a snicker escaped from her. "I have you know I finished it and didn't leave any blanks!" Mina exclaimed before laughing loudly.

"That's good, keep it up." She sighed, "you know you shouldn't worry about me. You should be worrying about yourself." You quirk a brow, "excuse me what -" Mina placed her hands on your cheeks and started stretching them, "it's day 2 and you look like shit. Look at your pale face and dark circles under your eyes! You look like a corpse." You slap her hands away from yours.

"She's not wrong." Tsuyu chimed in. You let out a sigh before resting both of your hands behind your neck, leaning your head back. "I'm fine, tomorrow is the last day anyway and I'll get plenty of rest." 

"Can you please wash up though? You literally look like a dead body -" you landed a kick on Mina's leg which sends her falling down on her behind. You walked out of the room and headed to the bathroom right down the hall. While walking, you started playing with your cheeks, _"is it that bad?"_ You mumbled to yourself, keeping your head down as you go deep into thought once again. 

_"The day before exams I drank that coffee to stay up a little longer so I could study but I ended up not sleeping at all. And last night, being the dumbass that I am, decided to drink the same coffee and ended up not sleeping again. Its been more than 24 hours of me not getting a blink of sleep is that okay? How am I still alive? What if I am a corpse and I didn't realize that I actually passed away. No it can't be. Can it? If I do the same later again, I might actually die during my last day of exams and I don't want that since there's going to be another practical exam that involves my Quirk and moving around a lot. What if I pass out during it and fail? And if I fail, I'll be held back another year while everyone around me proceeds to 2nd year while I -"_

You had bumped into something hard and firm, making you wake up to your senses. You looked up and saw dark purple orbs looking down at you. Looking away, you bowed slowly, "sorry about that." 

Shinsou heaved a breath and holds your chin, making you look up at him again. Your eyes widened when he started examining your face closely, it felt like his eyes were swallowing you whole. "Have you gotten any rest at all?" He asked, still holding onto your face. You felt your cheeks heating up, "I - yeah, of course I did." You looked away from his eyes and started laughing nervously.

He squints his eyes at you and glares, "you're lying." You gulped before letting out another nervous laugh, "w-why would I be laughing - I mean lying? Why would I be lying?" Shinsou cups your cheek and rubs his thumb against the dark circle under your eye, "well for one, your eyes tell me a different story. You're even paler than usual and even more than yesterday. And lastly, your messages haven't been doing you enough justice either."

Before you could ask what he meant, he takes his phone out from his pocket and shows it to you.

**Shinsou**  
_have you slept well yesterday? saw you at school and you looked like you were on death's doorstep_

**Shinsou**  
_i hope you're not overworking yourself_

**You**  
_trustr me tohsia i'mn okaydkk'_

**Shinsou**  
_yeah no you're not_

**You**  
_whywon 't yu bleiev me?_

While you were continuing to read, he puts his phone back inside his pockets, now looking right at you. "I'll come over to your dorm later, I'll keep an eye on you." Your eyes widened and started shaking your head violently, "no you can't it's exam week. You need to study too, y'know." Shinsou placed his hand on your forehead, checking if you had a fever. "You're slightly warm."

"Don't ignore my question!" He sighed, taking his hand away from you and places it inside his pocket. "Who said I wasn't going to study? I'll just study in your room and keep an eye on you at the same time. Not like you're the loud type when you study anyway." You were trying your best to fight back but you were feeling more and more tired with every word that left your lips.

Shinsou notices and places a hand on your shoulder, "I'll walk with you to your dorm later and I'll study there, alright? I'll wait outside of you classroom." You looked at him and nodded slowly. "And go wash up, we still have another test later."

* * *

While packing your things, you were silently pleading in your head that Shinsou had forgotten what he said to you from a while ago but you knew for a fact he's not the type of person to forget things so easily. You let out a groan, "now he won't be able to study properly for his exams." A head comes out of nowhere, "who won't be able to study properly for exams?" Mina asked, her head close to yours.

You were startled so hard you ended up landing a slap on her cheek making her yelp loudly. You realized it was her and heaved a relieved breath, placing a hand on your chest, "oh it's just you -"

"DON'T ACT AS IF YOU DIDN'T JUST SLAP ME!" She yelled while holding on her reddened cheek. "Maybe if you didn't sneak up on me like that!" You yelled back at her and glared, feeling fire leave your eyes. Mina sees your angered expression and laughs nervously, "fine, fine. I'll take that but you really didn't need to slap me." You nodded your head, "I'm sorry about that."

"Now that you mention it (Y/N) have you been getting enough sleep?" Jirou asked. You let out a sigh, "the answer is pretty obvious, isn't it?" Momo stands beside you and places her hand on your shoulder, "well we have the whole afternoon off. Why don't you rest?"

"I'm afraid that if I take an afternoon nap I'll end up sleeping the whole night and wake up the next d -" you felt someone pull on your uniform from behind which makes you take a step back. "Let's go." Right away you knew who owned that voice. Quickly, you grabbed your bag that was on your desk as Shinsou drags you outside of your classroom. Your cheeks were reddening more and more when all your classmates saw him drag you out.

"What are you -" he cuts you off by letting you go. "I was waiting since a while ago and I knew you'd be stalling time. Am I correct?" You looked at him in disbelief, "who do you think you are?" You asked him with your brows furrowed. Shinsou placed his hands inside his pockets as he exhaled, "if you end up passing out tomorrow during your practical, you're going to end up blaming yourself and you'd be upset for the next few weeks. I'm doing this for your own good."

You looked at him with upset in your eyes but you knew that deep down he was right. "I'm sorry if I'm being pushy - I shouldn't have done that. That was way too far." Your upset expression was quickly changed into a shocked one. Shinsou was apologizing to you with his head down and his eyes were avoiding yours. The moment you saw him reach for the back of his neck you quickly took his wrist, startling him.

"Let's go," you started dragging him behind you. He still wasn't sure what was happening but he shrugged it off, watching you.

You continued to drag him out of school and to your dorm. Shinsou smiled to himself when he realized that you most likely have forgotten that you were dragging him. You kept your head in front and didn't look back at him at all. The more you dragged him, the more he felt your grip weakening and loosening. 

You shut your door closed once he had entered. He placed his bag down by your bed as he looked around your almost empty room. Your room that used to have shelves filled with books, collectables, and plants were all gone. The only thing left in your room now was just a desk, a chair, and your bed. 

You sat down on your bed and watched him stand there. "So what now?" You asked him. Shinsou takes books out from his bag before sitting next to you. "Well, now you sleep." Your eyes quickly widened as you turned to your side to get a better look at him. "What?"

He tilted his head lightly, "you heard me. Go on, take your nap. I'll wake you up when it's time to." Shinsou was stoic as ever and unbothered while you looked like you were going to explode. "So you're just going to watch me s-sleep?" He nodded his head without hesitation, "it's alright, I knew you'd be embarrassed. Don't worry though, I won't stay near you and I'll be looking away."

You were more shocked at the fact that he was calm and collective about this. "It's not that -" you sighed and rubbed your face, trying to cool off. "You don't need to go through all this trouble. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble.." tears started falling out of your eyes, you only realized when you felt something wet land on your hand.

He chuckled lightly, placing both of his hands on the sides of your face, "look at you. You're so exhausted you're crying." He said in a calming tone as he wiped your tears off with his thumbs. "I'll wake you up at any time you want. But I won't let you sleep for an hour only." You couldn't help but smile sheepishly, slapping his chest lightly as you wiped your tears with the sleeve of your uniform.

Shinsou lets go of your face, "so when do I wake you up?" You glanced at the clock, it was only 2:43PM.

"Would 5PM do?" You said hesitantly, looking away from him. Shinsou chuckled, "that's perfect."

You went to your closet and took out comfortable clothes. "Don't you want to head back to your dorm and change into something more comfortable?" You asked him. Shinsou shook his head, "it's okay. It's not like I'm wearing a skirt like you. Here," he stood up from where he was seating and walked out of the door. "Change here, I'll wait outside."You nodded your head and closed the door behind him.

Maybe it was because you were sick, but for some reason.. your heart was pounding violently.

You opened the door slightly, peeking your head out and saw Shinsou standing across your room with his arms crossed. "I'm done." You told him and he nodded his head, going back inside your room. You were wearing a plain shirt with shorts on. "You can study on my desk and feel free to turn the lamp on." He nodded his head in response, putting his books down on the desk.

You felt kind of weird that you were just going to sleep while he studied, it made your cheeks burn and turn bright red. "Do you want me to tuck you in?" He joked which makes you snap out of your conscience, landing a punch on his shoulder while your cheeks got even redder.

His eyes widened, "are you okay? You're getting more and more red -" you slapped his hand away when he reached for your forehead, "yeah I'm doing good!" You said quickly before plopping down on your bed, burying your face deeply into your pillow as you felt yourself melt in embarrassment. 

You've never acted like this towards Shinsou before which makes you want to die even more. _"Why are you acting like this?"_ You thought to yourself before averting your eyes towards Shinsou who was seated by your desk, studying.

Without realizing, you started looking at him, admiring his back figure. How broad and muscular his shoulders have gotten, how his indigo locks were all over the place but it still looked good on him, his proper posture -

Your eyes started to close, falling asleep right away.

Half an hour has passed, Shinsou who flipped a page decides to check-up on you. He turned around and saw you sleeping soundly, your faint snores barely audible from where he sat. The indigo haired stood up from his seat and walked closer towards you, getting on his knees as he looked closely at you. You looked peaceful and rested beautifully.

A faint smile was plastered on the boy's lips. He knew it was wrong to look at you while you slept but seeing you this peaceful kept him at ease, it calmed him down. A strand of hair was on your face, carefully he tucks that strand of hair behind your ear. You let out a faint groan, making him flinch. "Toooshii," you said in your sleep.

Shinsou paused for a second before smiling, a laugh leaving his lips as he looks at you a little longer. "Thank you.." your voice was soft and fragile, it felt like a simple breeze could break it. A light shade of pink dusted on his cheeks lightly, "no.. thank you, (Y/N)." He replied with.

The more he looked at you, the more his heart was raising. He didn't know the reason behind it but he just shrugged it off, heading back to the desk. He wanted to admire you more in your sleep, he wanted to feel your soft features as you let out faint snores, but he knew that was wrong. You wouldn't be happy if he did that.

* * *

You let out a groan and opened your eyes slowly. You sat up from your bed and rubbed your eyes with the back of your hand before looking around your room. 

"Guess he already went back to his dorm." You told yourself.

Rubbing the back of your head and started thinking to yourself. Your eyes quickly widened, "wait.. if he left - then how long have I been sleeping fo -"

The door opens which makes you startled. Shinsou stood by the door with a tray in his hands. "Oh you're awake, just in time." He entered the room and closes the door by using his leg. "I thought you had already left." You looked at him as he placed the tray filled with food in front of you. 

"I just went downstairs to make you some food. Well, I asked assistance but still." You looked down at the tray and there was a bowl filled with soup and a glass of water. "How did they react when they saw you head down?" You asked him, taking a sip from the water.

Shinsou sat down on a seat, "they were shocked at first but when I told them the reason they understood and didn't mind."

_"SH-SHINSOU?! W-WHAT ARE YOU -"_

_"Calm down, I'm here because of (Y/N). She's resting in her room right now." He explained quickly. "Guess you were worried about her too, huh." Shinsou nodded his head lightly, rubbing the back of his neck, "guess you could say that."_

_"Well what were you planning on doing? Are you gonna make her something?" Momo asked and stood beside Shinsou. "Well, I was planning on making her something so she can eat when she wakes up. I need to wake her up in half an hour." He glanced at the clock._

_"Have you decided on what to make for her?" He lets out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck once again, "that's.. my problem. I'm not really the best cook." He said and Momo nodded with a smile on her face, "I'll help you out."_

You took a sip from the soup and let out a satisfied noise, "this is so good!" You exclaimed, taking more spoonfuls of soup into your mouth. He watched you indulge the soup like you haven't eaten in weeks, a smile on his face without realizing. "Here have some!" You offered him the bowl and he rejects.

"You're the one that needs it the most here. Finish it up so I can head downstairs and wash the dishes." 

"Have you studied yet?" You asked him. He nodded, "I'm pretty much done. Just need to review at my dorm again later." You looked at him for a while which makes him look back at you, "what's wrong?" You quickly shook your head, "it's nothing important. Just.. happy I have a friend like you." You said before chugging the soup down, letting out an "ah" sound when you were done.

Shinsou rolled his eyes and takes a handkerchief from his pocket, making his way towards you. He leaned forward, slightly near your eye level and wipes the excess soup from your face, "what am I going to do with you." He said, focused. You looked at him, his eyes focused on the corner of your lips and cleaning you.

You noticed this look Shinsou gives you. The look that never fails to make your heart pound out of your chest, the genuine and kind look he gives you. If looks could kill this would be it. After he was done, he takes the tray from you and heads downstairs.

"I'll be heading out now." Shinsou takes his bag that was on the ground. "Already? Wait I didn't mean it in that way -" he cuts you off with a chuckle, placing his hand on your head. "You need to study. Make sure to not stay up too long later got it?" You nodded your head slowly as he walks towards the door, waving you goodbye before finally leaving.


	19. Congratulations Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i made a mistake in the earlier chapters and forgot to state that reader was an intern in midnight's hero agency and work study

"Cheers!" Everyone gently clashed their glasses filled with sodas together. Kirishima chugged his drink down his system as if it was a shot, "can't believe our first year of high school is already over!" He exclaimed loudly and everyone nodded.

You leaned back and heaved a breath, "that practical exam has me beat up." You commented on. Your pink friend slaps your shoulder gently and you let out a faint yelp, "but you did amazing as always!" She gave you a thumbs up.

"Not gonna lie, I thought it was going to be harder than last time. It's still hard but, its gotten a bit more tamed." Momo said as she stirred her cup of tea, her eyes focused on it. "We all start leaving tomorrow, right?" Sero asked, pouring more soda into his now empty cup. "Correction, if you want to leave then you can leave tomorrow. Your stay here is only up until Tuesday. If you extend your stay any longer, they will kick you out." Iida butts in, his index finger pointing to the ceiling as he stood up.

"When are you guys leaving?" Uraraka asked, looking at the people around her. "I'm leaving tomorrow." Todoroki answered with his hands crossed on his chest. "What about you Kacha -" Bakugou stood up from his seat, clicking his tongue as he walked away from everyone. Kirishima from the side just chuckled nervously, "he's leaving tomorrow as well."

Everyone watched the angered blond head upstairs. "What about you guys?" Jirou asked, turning her head towards your direction. "I'm leaving by Monday. I still have a few things to pass.." Mina rubbed the back of her head as a nervous laugh leaves her lips. "What about you (Y/N)?" They asked. You folded your arms, "I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon." 

"You still have things to pass as well or?" You shook your head lightly, "just have to do a couple of things before I go that's all. I won't be seeing this place for the next 2 months after all." You let out a laugh. The class started talking about their plans for break.

* * *

You laid down on your bed, a sigh leaving your lips as you do. You looked up at the ceiling before sitting up. _"I really need to start packing up now."_

You took out more cardboard boxes and started filling them up with your clothes and other belongings that were left. The delivery truck had already taken some of your furniture home so you had even less things to worry about. While putting your things in boxes you had remembered about your laundry downstairs. It took you 2 hours to finish everything. From washing your clothes to waiting for them to dry in the dryer. 

"You done with everything?" Mina asked you. You had a box in your hands and you give her a nod, "done with all my laundry, what about you?" She smiled brightly, "almost done! Just have to wait for 'em to dry that's all." 

"I'm so jealous of your Quirk right now. You can just lift and do things without even trying." She pouts and you just laugh at her. "Now that I think about it.. I rarely see you use your Quirk everyday. I mean.. if I had your Quirk I'd use it 24/7 and would probably forget arms and legs were a thing. I mostly see you use it when you're needed to. Is it tiring if you use it everyday and to your advantage?"

You shook your head, "it's actually the opposite. I don't feel anything and it's actually really easy. I just choose not to use it so I can move on my own without depending on my Quirk too much. Y'know, when something happens one day." Mina was fully aware about the incident that happened to you in middle school. Her lips agape, "that makes a lot of sense. Man you really made me sound lazy."

You hit her head lightly, "it's because you are." You said with a smile before walking past her. You entered your room and put the box down, sighing. Your talk with Mina reminded you of what happened _before_ the incident. You would always use your Quirk to do things like carrying your bag, moving things towards you, using your Quirk to move around instead of actually moving yourself. You wouldn't necessarily say you **depended** on your Quirk. 

When the doctor advised you to tone your Quirk down and avoid using it for a few months, you had gotten more used to going things with your hands than using your actual Quirk. It was more of a blessing in disguised. Yeah, you still used it to your advantage from time to time but you still choose to not use it.

You can move objects freely and without a problem, you only ever use it when you have too much things in your hands and ever since you moved to U.A. your Quirk has only gotten more stable and stronger. During your work study with Midnight, she had focused more on making your Quirk more convenient by telling you to try to use it without aiming your hands at an object. You're still having trouble at that but you're getting better and better.

In the beginning of school you couldn't make anyone float or fly around without getting weaker or passing out. But now with all the things that happened around you, you've improved but still have a lot to do. You can only do it depending on your current mental and physical state. Not only that but it depends on the weight you're lifting and for how long.

You heaved a breath, "I'm finally done." You leaned your back against your bed, looking up at the ceiling. You haven't seen your family in the longest time you just realized. 

_Ding!_

Your eyes dart towards your phone that was on the desk. Smiling to yourself as you made your phone float towards your hand. You looked down at it and read the message you had just received.

**Toshi**  
_call?_

You chuckled lightly before pressing the phone icon on the top right, putting your phone on speaker mode as you placed it down beside you. 2 rings and he finally answered. "What's up?" You asked him. "Just wanted to check up on you. Can't text right now since I'm packing my things." He responded. "Are you done packing?"

You nodded your head, "yeah I just got finished. I did some packing ahead of time that's why." You looked at your nails and he makes a faint "ah" sound. "When are you leaving campus?" 

"Tomorrow afternoon. What about you?" 

"Why afternoon? Do you still have plans?" You started to laugh nervously, rubbing your nape lightly which catches Shinsou's attention. "That's what I was actually planning to ask you." He raised a brow, confused. "What if you come with me?"

You can tell Shinsou was very hesitant at first before he sighed, "(Y/N) if this is Kim -" you quickly cut him off, "no, no, no, no, no. It's not Kim, don't worry. It's actually someone we haven't seen and met in a while. Well, two of them."

"Will you tell me who?" You smiled widely, "that's for you to find out tomorrow! Unless already made plans to move in the morni -"

"No, it's good. I'll go with you. This better not be a prank or anything, I know it's not but.." he sighed which makes you laugh, "do you have trust issues that much? Trust me, you won't hate me. Maybe you'll even like me more actually."

He rubbed his face in frustration and fights a smile, "am I close to them? Can you at least tell me so I can mentally prepare myself." You felt your smile getting wider and wider, finding his reaction amusing. "You won't regret being friends with me after this."

"We'll see about that tomorrow." You nodded your head, "I'll wait for you outside of your dorm tomorrow at 12PM if that's okay." His lips parted, "and no **I'm** going to be the one going there." He heaved a breath, chuckling softly, "you win again."

* * *

You had just arrived and you had a bag with you. Just when you were about to take your phone out to text him, Shinsou walked out of his dorm with his hands inside his pockets. Your eyes widened when you saw him, "have you been waiting insi -" he shrugged his shoulders, "didn't want you waiting in the heat. And you've been killing me, can you tell me who we're meeting?"

You quickly shook your head, "you'll have to wait and see." Shinsou looked down at your hands and saw you carrying a bag. "What's in that?" You playfully rolled your eyes before grabbing his wrist, "you're asking too many questions. We can't keep them waiting." You started dragging Shinsou behind you, walking towards the school building. "Have you eaten lunch yet?" You asked him, turning your head slightly back to look at him. "Not yet no."

He might have been silent but his head was filled with guesses. Shinsou's heart was raising, he didn't know why but he was feeling more and more nervous with every step he took. You were leading him towards the garden where you two ate lunch for the first time together. 

You finally let go of his hand, "well? What do you think?" Shinsou looked around and saw no one there. He continued to look around to make sure no one was there while you stood there amused. He heaved a breath before taking his seat on the bench, "did you really make me worry for nothing?" You placed the bag you were holding down and took out bells.

He raised his brows as he watched you ring the tiny bells in your hands. You were looking around, trying to look for them. It took a while but 2 cats started running towards you, making you smile widely. They both came running towards you and you attack them with pets. "I was worried you guys have run off already." You told them.

Shinsou stood up from where he sat and made his way towards you with wide eyes before getting on his knees. "Are these.." you nodded your head, "the ones we met a year ago." He smiled lightly when the cats remembered him, rubbing their furry bodies against him.

"I bumped into them here a few days ago and thought it would be nice to have a picnic and catch up with them." You gestured to the bag you were carrying a while ago. You had taken out a plain red picnic blanket and placed it on the grass, taking out a few containers filled with food. You pat on the vacant spot across you, gesturing Shinsou to take his seat.

He sat down and the cats followed him. "What's the special occasion though?" He asked while you were opening a few of the containers, revealing a whole variety of food. "Well, you didn't necessarily have a proper congratulations party for when you passed the entrance exam to the hero course. And since you don't like crowded places and were busy when we threw an after party at my classes' dorm, I thought I would make it up to you. Sorry if this is really late." You chuckled nervously.

Shinsou looked down at what you prepared before shaking his head, "it's perfect don't worry about it." You offered him a sandwich and he takes it. You both spent the whole time talking to each other, playing around with the cats, and taking photos.

While Shinsou was laying on the grass with one of the cats on his chest, you secretly took a photo of him, smiling at the cute shot you had just taken. "Have your boxes been sent home yet?" He asked, playing with the cat's little paws. You nodded your head, "they sent it this morning so now I just need to walk back home later." The other cat sat on your lap, getting into a comfortable position that limits your movements now.

You started petting it, sweet and soft purrs filling your ears as you do. "You should've told me. I could've at least helped with the food prep. Or bought some drinks." You sighed, "this is exactly why I didn't tell you. Let me do things for you too once in a while. You work too hard." He sat up and looks at you, "as if you don't work too hard yourself."

"Is it even okay to be here?" He asked and you nodded, "I asked sir Aizawa the other day, I even made him a letter but he said it was fine. As long as I clean up the mess we made and leave the garden without breaking anything we're good." You explained and took a sip from your cup. "You still didn't have to go all through this trouble."

You exhaled, "you're right. I shouldn't have especially when you won't even tell me what class you'll be in next school year." He rolled his eyes at you and picks the cat up, "it will be a surprise. And like you told me since yesterday "you'll have to wait and see", remember?" You glared at him silently, "you play dirty."

Shinsou laughs before shrugging his shoulders at you. "Well, no matter what class you end up in you better not go easy on me. Class A or B, we will be fighting against each other sooner or later." You warned him, silently sulking. "Not like I was planning on going easy on you anyway." He replied with, leaning back slightly. 

"You better stop with the edgy shit sooner or later." He quirks a brow at you, "eh?" He let out and you just shook your head, smiling. "I'm really glad you're starting to open up more and more, Toshi. It's like I'm seeing a new side of you each day that passes." You lift the cat up and carried them in your arms, getting up on your feet as you looked down at Shinsou. "Let's be friends next school year too, alright?"

The indigo haired male looks up at you before a smile appears on his face, "of course."


	20. Home

**You**   
_you coming?_

You sent the message to him and laid down on your bed, putting your phone down beside you. It had already been almost a month since school ended and Shinsou stops by at your place once in a while to hangout. Your family has this liking towards Shinsou and you were glad they liked him. You were unsure what your family would think about him at first but it seemed like they really liked him right away.

The door opens which makes you lift your head up slightly to look at whoever entered. Your mom peeks her head slightly, "(Y/N) I'll be going to get groceries. Shinsou is coming over, right?" She asked. You sat up and nodded, "I'm just waiting for him to reply. Do you need help?" You asked her and she shook her head, "I'll be alright! I just need to buy a few things. I won't be out long."

"Your brothers won't be around too. Please take care of the house." You nodded your head, "alright mom." Just when she closed your door your phone vibrates. You took it and looked at Shinsou's message.

**Toshi**   
_yeah i'm almost there_

**You**   
_alrighty i'll be waiting_

You decided to watch some videos while you waited patiently. You and Shinsou have been hanging out a lot since break started but it wasn't a daily thing. He still trains hard on his own or with Aizawa and on his days off, he's either at home resting or spending the day with you. You didn't mind him coming over every now and then since you liked the company and its been a long while since you had someone come over at your place.

You hear the door bell ring which makes you get up on your feet and run to the front door. You opened it and was greeted by a pair of half lidded dark purple eyes. "Come in," you told him and he nodded. You closed the door behind him as he took his shoes off, putting his bag down.

"Before I forget, mom is out to buy groceries and my brothers aren't here today." You both started walking towards your room, "so its just us again?" He asked and you nodded your head, "pretty much." He sits down on the corner of your bed and lays down, a heavy breath leaving his lips as he looked up at the ceiling. You sat down beside him before laying down as well, "you tired?"

Nodding his head, "kind of. Aizawa was harsher than usual yesterday." You turn your head to look at him with raised brows, "oh he was there yesterday?" 

"Yeah but training was only for a couple of hours. He had some things to do again hence why he went harder than usual." Shinsou explained. "Hes been getting busier and busier. Can't blame him thought especially with all the things that happened. Ever since All Might's retirement it seems like the Pro Heroes are getting more stressed and busier than ever." He nodded his head, "its been tough."

"Has Aizawa ever told you anything that's been going on?" He shook his head, "well sometimes I guess. But these days he dodges the questions, it's not like it's my business." He placed his hands on the back of his head, continuing to stare at the ceiling. "I can't wait to be a hero one day." You brought up which makes him turn his head to look at you.

"The thought of being someone's happiness and motivation is.. something I look forward to most. Before I went to U.A. I thought heroes were automatically fearless, strong, and wise but as it turns out, they're still humans like us. They make just as many mistakes as us and they worked hard to be where they at right now." You sat up and heaved a breath which makes Shinsou sit up too.

"I don't think I've ever asked you but what motivated you to be a hero, Tosh?" He lowered his head slowly, "well I guess you could say its pretty basic but -"

_Ding!_

Your eyes widened while Shinsou looked at your phone in the corner of your room. "J-Just one sec." You stood up and grabbed it, checking the notification while Shinsou waits patiently in the back. It took you a longer while than expected which makes him raise a brow, "who are you texting?" He asked.

You snapped back into reality which makes you lift your head up from your phone and look at him. "It's.. someone." You said unsure before going back to your phone again. The indigo haired male sighed, "you don't have to hide from me that you're talking to Kim." You flinched when her name came out of his lips which makes you turn away in shame. "I know. I just know how much you're uncomfortable when I talk about her."

"Not necessarily. It's not that she makes me uncomfortable it's just when -" your phone makes another noise which cuts Shinsou off. Sighing as he shook his head, "never mind." You looked down on your phone before looking back at him. Turning it off and placing it on your desk, you walked over to Shinsou and leaned forward, getting by his eye level while he sat on your bed. 

"I'm sorry if I upset you. Would you like updates on the Kim situation or?" It took him a while to reply as he looked around the room but avoided your eyes. You sighed, "alrighty, I'll tell you everything then." You sat on the floor across him while he remained on your bed.

You clasped your hands together and took a deep breath, "so Kim and I have been chatting for a while now. It only started a week ago though, so not that long. We've just been chatting though, nothing else is going on beside that." Shinsou sighed before rubbing his temple, "why are you making it sound like I caught you cheating or something."

He finally locks eyes with you, "listen (Y/N). You can be friends with anyone you want. It's **your** life and not mine, I'm just your friend who'll be here to support you and be there for you. I'm just here to look after you and guide you. If you want to be friends with Kim, then be friends with her. I'm not going to stop your from doing the things you want to do."

You didn't respond and just nodded your head. "I don't know her personally like you did, but the thing she did to you was harsh and I might not even forgive her for doing that. But if you trust her then.." he hesitated to say the last part. He coughed before looking away, "I guess I can trust her too.." he mumbled silently which makes you smile.

You grabbed a small pillow near you before throwing it at him, "you're so fucking cheesy." A smile escaped his lips before he throws the pillow back at you which results to you bursting out of laughter. 

As usual, you both decided to watch another movie. This time it was his turn to pick what to watch. "The Gathering?" You looked at him with raised brows and he nodded slowly. "What's it about?" You felt your voice shake a little, you knew exactly what the movie was by just looking at the title. "You'll see." He replied with before clicking play and turned the lights off.

"Toshi I told you horror movies aren't allowed." You said averting your eyes away from the screen while he took his seat beside you in bed. "If you could handle the haunted maze you can handle the movie." He teased but you were too busy focusing on your raising heart beat, it felt as if it was gonna burst right out of your chest.

"You made me watch Barbie films. It's only fair." You shook your head, "what kind of fair do you use? You enjoyed those Barbie movies don't lie to me." Shinsou sighed in defeat, "that's not that point. I'm sure you'll like this one too! If it makes you happier this is the least scariest one compared to the others that I watch."

Your body was wrapped around with a blanket as if you were a burrito. Your eyes were too focused on the screen to notice Shinsou was eyeing you from the side smiling. Once the suspenseful music started getting louder, you dug your face deeper into the blanket, hiding your eyes but also taking small peeks to see what was happening. While you were busy watching the movie, Shinsou couldn't get his eyes off of you. It was amusing to him.

"DON'T GO IN THERE YOU IDIOT." You yelled at the screen as the main character of the movie locks herself inside of a dark room. "She's gonna die." You mumbled to yourself as you glared at the TV. "SHE FORGOT ABOUT HER DOG HOW COULD SHE?!" Shinsou lets out a laugh as you continue to get frustrated.

The room was silent. There was no longer music playing while the main character sneaks out in a dark and empty hallway. Although you were covering your eyes with the blanket, you kept taking small peeks. "BOO!" Shinsou yells at you which makes you jump, falling off the bed. "SHIT ARE YOU OKAY?" He asked you and tried to sound concern but it was obvious that he was having trouble to hold back his laugh.

You didn't move for a while and stayed there. Your soul had completely left your body and you refused to move. He coughed, "(Y/N)?" You sat up slowly and look up at him, glaring. "You're dead to me." You said before throwing a pillow at his face. Shinsou continued to laugh, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"YOU'RE SUCH A DICK!" You stood up and started hitting him while he used his arms to shield himself, still laughing hysterically. "I didn't mean to scare you so much you'd fall off the bed." He wiped a tear from his eye and you finally stopped. "I can't believe you." You folded your arms and sighed, shaking your head in disapproval.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll tone it down next time." You gasped, "shouldn't you be saying 'I'll never do it again, sorry'? You are an ass." He shrugged his shoulders while a smug look was plastered on his face, "I can't promise things that I know I'll break." 

When you were about to talk back to him your door opens and it reveals your mom. Shinsou stood up from where he sat and bowed, "good afternoon mrs (L/N)." He greeted her. She shook her head sheepishly, "I told you so many times Shinsou, you don't need to bow every time you see me."

"I didn't know you were home already mom." You said as you looked at her with a tray in her hands. She entered the room and placed the tray filled with food on the coffee table, "I didn't want to interrupt your movie. I arrived half an hour ago and made snacks." 

"You didn't have to, we could've made it ourselves." You looked down at the food. "It's the least I can do. Shinsou are you going to eat dinner here?" The indigo haired shook his head lightly, "my mom will be home early today." You mom nodded, "that's a shame, maybe next time then." She finally leaves the two of you alone and closes the door.

You took a piece of apple and ate it, "how's Eri by the way? I haven't seen her in a while." Shinsou takes an orange slice, "she's under Aizawa's care as of this moment. He seems happy to be taking care of her though." He eats the piece of fruit in his hand. "Didn't see him as the children type but it suits him. You seem to be like his son too not gonna li -"

Shinsou chokes and starts coughing, making your eyes go wide and rub his back. "Are you okay?" You asked him and he nodded. "Jeez didn't think you'd react that way." You laughed before sitting back down. "He's just my mentor. That's all that there is to it." You give him a look but he seemed to be bothered about something.

"Toshi I've been thinking a lot about something." He raised a brow before taking another slice of fruit. "You visit me every once in a while, right?" Shinsou hesitantly nodded, still unsure to where this conversation was going. "Well, what if I come visit your place next?"

It's not that his house was dirty and a mess or anything. He liked coming over to your place because of the different vibe and energy it had. His parents are always busy with their work so the house is mostly empty and there's barely anyone there other than him and his cats. His mother works all day and night and most of the time sleeps and stays somewhere else. Unlike his house that always felt empty and lonely, yours was the complete opposite.

When you invited him over for the first time he was very hesitant. He wasn't the most sociable which is why he worried that your family would quickly dislike him. Your home felt even more home-y than his own. The warm and comfort he felt every time he visited always surprised him. Surprisingly your brothers and Shinsou get along really well and your mom seems to like him a lot too.

"Shinsou?" He snapped out of his thoughts and nodded, "sorry I just remembered something but, sure. I don't mind." Your eyes widened as a smile appeared on your face, "really? You mean it?" Shinsou nodded his head which manages to make your smile even bigger. "You really want to meet my cats that badly, huh."

You shook your head, "well that's one of the reasons. So when can I come over? Will you send me your address?" He looked around, "I have training for 2 days so uhh.. I'll pick you up at your place and we can go there together." You looked at him with a blank face, unamused. "Don't give me that look. I don't want you getting lost and be the one going to my place."

"You're always the one adjusting though, it's unfair. I want to do things on my own without you too." You pleaded Shinsou but he still wasn't convinced. Pouting your lips, "please?" He looked at you before scratching the back of his head in frustration letting out a groan, "fine."

* * *

You looked down at your phone before looking at your surroundings. Shinsou's place wasn't that far from where yours was. The people passing by couldn't help but look at you with concerned faces. You were completely lost. 

"I already turned that direction and it's a dead end. I already went there but it didn't seem right. Have I went in that direction y -"

"I knew you'd get lost." The sudden voice startles you which makes you flinch. "Could you maybe I don't know stop doing that?" A smirk formed on the corner of his lips before walking closer towards you. "Have you been watching me struggle this whole time? If so, that's really fucking rude." He lets out a short laugh, shaking his head while his hands stayed inside his pockets.

"Just arrived actually. Knowing you you would've arrived there at this time but as I expected you're lo -" you cut him off, "okay, okay, fine. I give up and you win. But this will be the last time I get lost, got it?" He playfully rolled his eyes before walking off to a different direction. "You coming?" He asked. You quickly nodded your head and followed him.

Shinsou started walking down a road you didn't even see. "Was this road always here?" You thought yourself and looked around. "Don't expect too much." He suddenly let out, his eyes remained in front. You turn your head slightly to look at him before looking away shortly after.

He opened the door and gestures you to enter first. You nodded your head and entered, taking your shoes off before admiring his house. It was definetely more spacious and bigger than yours. "Whoa," you said with your lips opened while your eyes examine the whole room. Shinsou closes the door behind him and watches you.

"You didn't tell me you were a rich boy." You looked at him but he was stoic as ever. "It's whatever." You looked around and continued to be more and more amazed each time. There were picture frames on the walls of Shinsou as a baby and as a kid. You let out a laugh when you saw a picture of him with his hair down. "So glad I changed my hairstyle." He sighed.

You turn your body to get a better look at him and ran your fingers through his hair, startling him. "I think any hairstyle suits you not gonna lie. It's cute." You smiled lightly before looking at more pictures. A shade of pink was lightly dusted on Shinsou's cheeks but they quickly got back to his natural color after a while. 

"You really are a cat person." You said as you took one of the picture frames and showed it to him. It was Shinsou as a baby and he was wearing a cat onesie glaring at the camera. "You haven't changed at all." You put the frame back where it originally was. "Let's stop there. I'm getting embarrassed. You wanted to meet my cats, correct?" 

Your eyes sparkled as those words left his lips, nodding your head enthusiastically. "Follow me, they're in my room." You followed him to his room and the house only seemed to get bigger and bigger. He opened the door to his room and the moment he does, a cat leaps out and started running. 

Your jaw dropped as your finger pointed at the cat that just ran, "was that Snow?" He nodded and entered his room before coming out with a beautiful dark cat in his arms. "And this is Haru." You lock eyes with the cat and you were hypnotized by her beauty. You gasped, "s-she's beautiful.." you took a step closer to the cat and was about to touch her until you felt ticklish on your leg.

You looked down and saw Snow rubbing her tail against your leg, nuzzling close to you. You went down and started petting the white cat, "hi Snow, you're so cute." The cat suddenly got on her back, subconsciously telling you to rub her belly. Smiling, you did as told and she purred.

Shinsou was too shocked to do anything. "How did you.." he paused, "seems like Snow likes you a lot more than me." He finally puts Haru down and the cat immediately walks closer towards you. "I haven't seen Snow act like that at all." He folded his arms on his chest and smiled widely.

"They're really sweet." You frowned as you started petting them both. Snow starts liking your finger, "she really does like you." Shinsou commented, still amazed.

You both settled down in his room. You sat down on a beanbag at the corner of his room and his cats quickly followed you, resting on top of you. "Seems like they found their new owner." He smiled widely. Snow was all over you, she refused to leave your side for just one second. The whole afternoon you ended up playing with the cats and Shinsou.

You were using lasers, cat toys, and even played hide and seek with them. You laid down on his couch, out of breath. You just came back from the backyard, running around with Haru and Snow while Shinsou silently filmed every thing. He was at the kitchen and was preparing snacks and water. "Can't believe you fell for their trap and they manage to play with you." 

Panting loudly, "they seemed to enjoy it so I don't mind.." you said in between breaths. The cats started snuggling close to you and they quickly passed out once you petted them. Their silent and cute snores filled your ears in delight, if a noise could cleanse your soul this would be it. 

Shinsou started pouring water in an empty glass, "what do you want to eat? I can prepare noodles if you want." He said and took the 2 glasses of water in his hands, walking over to the living room. He looked around for you but eventually found you. 

You were passed out on the couch with the cats sleeping with you peacefully. The sight made his heart skip a beat and it started raising. He puts the glasses of water down on the glass table and continued to look at you and his cats. "Idiot, you're completely worn out." He looked at the time and it was about to be 5PM soon.

Shinsou sighed, "I'll wake you up in a few minutes so you can head home early. It's too dangerous to be walking home at night." He sat down on the vacant couch across the one you were sleeping on and waited for the right time to wake you up. Since his parents wouldn't be home today like usual, he wasn't in a rush at all. After 15 minutes you finally have woken up from your nap.

You stretched your arms as a yawn left your lips. Your eyes widened when you realized you had accidentally woken up Snow and Haru. "Oh crap I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you two up." You quickly apologized before sitting up. You looked around the room and saw Shinsou. "Oh you're up."

"It's about to be 5:20 soon, you should get going. I'll walk with you." You nodded your head as you stood up from the couch. You saw your reflection and started fixing your messy hair. Shinsou puts a hoodie on and opens the door for you. He had planned to wake you up at 5:00 but you looked too peaceful and he ended up not waking you up at all.

You both started walking together under the darkening sky. "I had a lot of fun today." You smiled sheepishly. "I'm still surprised you didn't fight me when I offered to walk you home." You playfully rolls your eyes at him as he chuckled. "I'll only let you win this round. I do owe you one for stealing both of your cats and ended up passing out on your couch."

"When you went down to pet Snow I was panicking at first because she's not the friendliest especially when it's her first time meeting you. Maybe you should catsit them for me sometime." He said as a joke but you looked at him with a serious look on your face. "I'll do it." You said without hesitation which makes him laugh shortly.

"You made Snow run too, that's impossible." You shrugged your shoulders as a smug look appears on your face, "I'm a jack of all trades I guess you can say." You both continued the conversation until you had arrived at your place. "Well, thanks for inviting me to your place. I'll go there on my own next time without getting lost." You pointed at him with a smirk.

"Don't push your luck that far. Isn't your mom concerned about you and why you're late?" He asked with his two brows raised. You shook your head, "not really. She knows I went to your place and she seems to trust and like you a lot." He nodded slowly, "that's.. good to know."

You punched his shoulder lightly, "don't think about it so much. Thank for walking me home, again." You started walking backwards, giving him a wave. He waved back at you and watched you enter your home before leaving shortly after.


	21. Sleepover

Mina started rolling around on the ground while everyone started laughing loudly. You wipe a tear off from your eye and took a deep breath, trying to collect yourself. "You didn't have to say it like that!" She yelled before laughing too. Everyone started to calm down, tears on all their eyes. 

"I miss hanging out with you guys like this." Uraraka said as she leaned back. "We should do this more often since school isn't around." You laughed nervously, "m-maybe tell me a day earlier?" You interrupted which makes everyone smile.

"Sorry about that, (Y/N). We didn't mean to intrude in you h -"  
"Maybe if you responded to the groupchat." Mina butts in before drinking her cup of water.

You glared at her, "don't make it sound like it's my fault, I didn't check the groupchat **once**." Everyone around you started laughing again which makes you and Mina look at them with confused looks. "It's nothing, we just haven't heard you two quarreling in a long while." Momo explained and gives you a soft smile.

"Momo I thought you were visiting another country?" Tsuyu looked at her as she nodded her head, "I did but the trip ended earlier than we thought since my mom had gotten sick." 

"Is she okay now? Hopefully you weren't pressured to come today." You wrapped your arms around your legs. She nodded, "that was a week ago, she's good now. Thank you for your concern." You looked at the empty plate on the coffee table in the middle of everyone before getting up on your feet to get it. "Oh (Y/N) let me do it -" you shook your head lightly, "it's fine, it's my house after all. Make yourselves comfortable, I'll be right back." 

You left your room and went to the kitchen. While you washed the plate, in the corner of your eye you saw a figure by the living room. "Dawo? What are you doing there?" You asked him and turned the tab off. He looks up from his phone as his lips formed a straight line; not long after the loud laughs of your friends start bursting from your room. 

Your eyes quickly shut as a hiss leaves you, "I'm really sorry. I'll tell them to tone it down." He shook his head before leaning his head back, "it's fine don't worry too much about it. I can't sleep either way."

You placed the plate on the side for it to dry, wiping your hands with a towel, "you good? Something you want to talk about?" You made your way towards your older brother and he shrugged his shoulders. "Something in my club, but don't worry too much about me. It's nothing special." He got up and went towards the front door.

"It's about to be 12AM soon, don't take too long." He opened the door and chuckled, "I'm the older sibling here. I won't, I just need some fresh air that's all. You're lucky Daiso and Mom are both heavy sleepers." He smiled lightly at you before closing the door.

Sighing, you entered your room again and saw them all still seated on the floor. "Oh (Y/N)'s back. You got a notification not too long ago by the way." Jirou tells you and you give her a nod. You sat on your bed and unlocked your phone. _2 missed messages_

**Kim**  
_i'm taking a late night walk by myself and just remembered you_

**Kim**  
_what are you up to?_

You were thinking of something to reply until Mina calls for your name. "(Y/N) it's girls night, don't talk to Shinsou right now. No boys allowed, I don't care what he wants." She whined loudly. Rolling your eyes, "it's not Shinsou it's.. a friend from middle school." You hesitated to say the last part but shrugged it off.

**You**  
_can't talk rn i'm at a sleepover_

**Kim**  
_crap didn't think you'd be awake at this hour but ig that's reasonable_

**Kim**  
_man i remember when we used to do sleepover_

You paused, trying to remember your sleepovers with her. "I don't think.. we ever did throw one.." you thought to yourself. Shaking your head, you turned it to silent mode before putting your phone away, going back to your friends. Mina scoffed loudly, "you can't even hold a normal conversation with Midoriya without shutting down and turning into a tomato!" She teased which causes Uraraka to turn bright red.

"I guess that's how you know you like someone, huh. They make you feel all fuzzy and nervous when you're around them." Tsuyu started stroking her chin as if she was thinking. "Have you guys had any crushes in the past?" Toru takes a sip from her juice box. 

"Pretty sure we all have, r-right?" Uraraka sounded unsure and stressed, face still a tomato. "What about (Y/N) and Shinsou?" 

_"Not this shit again."_

"Midoriya saw you wait for him outside of his dorm before running off somewhere holding his hand. Are you two official already?" You rest your chin on your knee while wrapping your arms around them, "official?" You said with a raised brow.

"Like.. boyfriend and girlfriend. Have you never been in a relationship before?" Uraraka asked. You looked around the room before shaking your head, "not really. A relationship is the last thing on my mind to be honest. Maybe after I graduate? I don't know really." 

"How do you feel when you're around him?" You shrugged with a straight face, "just.. normal I guess? The same emotions I feel when I'm around everyone." Jirou nodded, "but has there ever been _one_ moment you reacted differently?"

Your lips parted before you shut them close. "Have I?" You asked yourself and started to think. Memories of Shinsou started playing in your head; from you landing on top of him by accident to when you hung out at his place. There were a bunch of times where you noticed how beautiful he was, especially his purple eyes. You two hang out a lot and there's too much that happened but most things seemed to be normal. Right?

"Good job, Jirou. You broke (Y/N)." They all looked at you nipping on your finger as you mumbled to yourself silently, staring off to space. They started to give up on you since it was quite obvious you were in too deep inside your head. 

"There has been a few times." You finally said which causes everyone to turn their heads towards you. Their eyes were wide and waited for you to finish talking. "Like the way his eyes shine when he talks passionately about wanting to be a hero and becoming the greatest one. For a guy with that Quirk and having so much people look down at you and calling you a villain, it's.."

"He might have this intimidating, dark, and tired look to him but when you get to know him he's actually one of the most sweetest and genuine guys I've ever met. I'm rambling I'm really sorry -" they hushed you, "c-continue."

You looked at them with raised brows, confused. "O-Okay? What else am I supposed to say about him though.." you looked down. "Have you ever imagined yourself being his girlfriend?" You shook your head, "I haven't but he'd be no doubt a good boyfriend. He's the biggest gentleman I know and always offers to do things for me when I'm fully capable of doing it myself. He's very caring, I'll give him that." You folded your arms on your chest.

They all started looking at each other with wide eyes. "Doesn't he come over here?" Tsuyu asked. You nodded your head, "yeah some times. Not everyday though, he's too busy for that." 

"Now that we have (Y/N)'s answer... I wonder if Shinsou likes her instead." You give them a look and scoffed, "we're just friends, why would he like me anyway?" 

"Now that I think about it I rarely see Shinsou hanging out with anyone unlike (Y/N). (Y/N) hangs out with us and is pretty friendly with everyone around her meanwhile Shinsou.." their eyes were getting wider and wider before they started squealing loudly. You sighed, "are you guys really ignoring me right now?"

Mina grabbed you by your shoulders and started shaking you back and forth, "A GUY LIKES YOU (Y/N)!!" She yelled loudly which makes you land a slap across her face, "you're being too loud dumbass!" You scold her. You heaved a breath, "you guys are over exaggerating. Did you guys forget about his speech? About not being here to make friends?"

"Well he's friends with you?" You quickly shook your head, "that's not that point! Shinsou treats everyone the same, he is a gentleman. If you guys meet and get closer to him, you'd see and understand where I'm coming from." 

"Can't blame (Y/N) for avoiding reality. If Shinsou confesses to her and she doesn't feel the same way, their friendship might be over just like that -"

"I would never reject Shinsou."

Silence filled the room as everyone's eyes were wide and were on you. You sighed, "if he has feelings for me, which I know he doesn't, then I'll.. reject them, yes but I wouldn't want to throw our friendship away just because of feelings. That's rude and insensitive." You crossed your arms. "He's still my friend." 

They all dropped the topic right after that and decided to watch a movie. Everyone was resting on their own futon while the movie was playing. "I'll be right back." You grabbed your phone and left the room, dropping yourself on the sofa. A breath escapes your lips before you turned your phone on.

**You**  
_hey can i ask you a question? if you're awake ofc_

You waited for a reply, tapping the corner of your phone against your chin. _Ding!_

**Toshi**  
_sure what's up?_

You were hesitating if you should type it or call him. It was a random question and seemed really strange if you just blurted it out of the blue.

**You**  
_you know what, nvm it's weird_

_"You can't just type 'so I have this friend who likes her best friend' you fucking idiot."_ You scolded yourself.

**Toshi**  
_did smth happen in the sleepover?_

**You**  
_no no no don't worry abt it !! it's fine_

**Toshi**  
_you know how stubborn i am, just tell me_

**Toshi**  
_idc how weird it is_

**You**  
_fine is a tomato a fruit or vegetable_

You felt your cheeks reddening the moment you sent that message, regretting it immediately.

**Toshi**  
_yeah it is, google says so_

**Toshi**  
_are you sure that's the question you wanna ask?_

**You**  
_told you it was weird_

**Toshi**  
_it's okay? just expected it to be weirder or smth embarrassing which you find weird asking_

"Fuck," you swore silently.

**Toshi**  
_do u wanna ask it in a call?_

You looked at his message, taking a deep breath.

**You**  
_but you already answered my question didn't you??????_

**Toshi**  
_ik, just want to hear you say it to me_

Before you could reply, he was already calling you.

**Toshi**  
_Accept | Decline_

You held your breath until you accepted the call, your behind on the edge of the couch.

"So what's your question?" By the sound of his tone you knew something was up right away. "But you already answered my question." You said before getting up on your feet to pace around the living room. 

He chuckled, "you think I can't see right through you? If you have something to ask me, do it. I won't judge you. What kind of friend would I be if I did?" You were silent, feeling your face reddening more and more. "It's really out of context I promise. It's embarrassing and weird.. the worst possible combination."

"Just tell me, alright? If it's really that bad then you don't have to." He reassured you. "Before that how did you know I was lying about the question?" You asked. "Well first of all, I know you well enough that if you had a question about something, you'd search it up right away instead of asking me. And once you find the answer, you start talking about it to me."

"That's.. impressive." He chuckled, "yeah, yeah, stop stalling. What's the question?" You took a deep breath, "I just don't want you thinking the wrong way, alright? Promise me that." 

"I promise to not think the wrong way. Now what is it, you're killing me with suspense here." 

You took a deep breath, "if feelings were to happen in a friendship but it's.. one sided, what would you do?" Shinsou doesn't reply which makes your heart start pounding violently inside your chest. 

"Am I the one with feelings or no?" You shook your head and shrugged, "does it matter? My question is.. would you throw away the friendship if only one of you had feelings while the other doesn't have any."

"Well.. no. Why would I throw a whole friendship away? Sure it'll get awkward at first I think but, if the two still want to remain friends then whats to stop them?" You nodded your head, "thanks. I have to go now, they said no boys allowed in girls night." A laugh escapes his lips, "fair enough. Have fun," you smiled lightly, "don't stay up for too long." He hummed in response before you ended the call.

A wave of relief washed over you immediately. Your shoulders got 20x lighter the moment the call ended. You still knew for a fact that Shinsou didn't have feelings for you and vice versa, but the thought of no longer being friends with him was a terrifying thought.

He was like your support system. A close friend you've never had before. Yeah, you have Mina but there was something about the indigo haired male that was different. You couldn't put a finger on it but he really does make you happy. When you're around him, you feel like you could be yourself without fearing for anything. You didn't want that to be gone.


	22. His Mother

You were on your way to Shinsou's place, riding your bike. The cold breeze brushes against your skin as you give familiar faces friendly smiles. "Where are you off to (Y/N)?" One of your neighbors asked, making you stop. "I'm just on my way to a friend's house. Do you need help with that, mrs Usui?" She shook her head, patting your back gently, "I'm fine deary. Go on ahead, it was nice bumping into you." She gives you a friendly wave before walking away.

You continued cycling to his place. It had been almost two weeks since you started heading to Shinsou's place a lot more often. He still comes over to your place but there are times you're the one coming over. Finally arriving at his place, you hopped out of your bicycle and started dragging it with you. The front door opens which reveals Shinsou looking down on his phone.

Gently placing your bike at the side of his house, making sure it's balanced. "You brought the goods?" He asked you, placing his phone inside his pocket. You turned around to look at him and nodded, handing him a paper bag. He takes it from you, "let's head inside." You both entered his home and as usual, the cats came running towards you the moment you entered.

Giggling, you got on your knees and started petting them. "I missed you guys." You said in a baby voice, nuzzling your head on theirs before planting kisses. Shinsou watches you and smiles lightly before heading to the kitchen. Getting up on your feet, you placed your bag down on the couch and followed Shinsou not shortly after.

"Is it almost done?" You tried taking a peek but his figure was too tall. He notices you struggling and moves to the side, giving you space. You looked down at the pot and it made you salivate in your mouth. "That smells so good." You smiled widely and gave him a thumbs up. "It's this recipe I learned online. I did some research and this is perfect for the current season and the reviews are good."

He takes out a clean spoon from a drawer and takes a sample from the pot. Shinsou blew on it gently before moving the spoon towards your mouth. You open your mouth and give it a taste, thinking. He looks at you with his usual stoic expression and half lidded eyes, waiting for you to comment. "Could use some salt but overall this is really good." He tastes it himself and nodded, "you're right."

Shinsou walks over to a cabinet and takes out salt. "Your cooking has improved a lot. I feel like you're starting to get better than me too." You laughed which makes your friend chuckle, "we both know your cooking is in a whole new different level." He takes the cooked pasta from the side and pours it on the tomato sauce, mixing it well.

"Well, you're known to improve a lot in just a short amount of time. Doesn't mean I'll lose to you though." You stuck your tongue out at him, making him playfully roll his eyes at you, "yeah yeah, whatever you say. Can you start prepping the plates and the taco shells please?" You nodded your head and went to the cupboard that had the plates.

You took out two plates and went towards the counter. Taking the brown paper bag you brought with you a while ago, you opened it and took out a few taco shells. "This better be worth it." You heard him say as he turned the stove off. "Well the show made it look really good and a lot of people have said that it's _really_ good."

Shinsou takes the pot and brings it towards the plates you have prepared. He placed the spaghetti inside the taco shells. You looked at him focusing and smiled. You can clearly see him struggling a bit but he chooses not to say anything. "Here, I'll help." You take a fork and start helping him. While you two were focusing, Snow had jumped on the counter and was about to take a bite from your creations.

"Snow!" You yelled, dropping the fork in your hand gently before carrying the cat off of the counter, putting her down on the ground. "You're not allowed to eat that, okay?" You looked at the cat's eyes as she meowed at you, tilting her head. "No. No means no, I'm really sorry." You continued to conversate with the cat as if it understood you.

Shinsou smiled widely to himself as he observed you from the side, finishing the task. "I'm done," a smile crept on your lips as you turned towards him. He hands you your plate and you clasped your hands together, "thank you for the food." You both said before digging in.

You took the taco shell filled with spaghetti, taking a big bite from it. "Holy fuck," you said with a mouthful of food. Without realizing you started doing a little dance as you continued to chew. Shinsou looks at you before rolling his eyes, taking a piece of tissue from the side and used it to wipe tomato sauce off from your lips, "you really are five years old." He said before throwing the tissue to the trash.

"This is really good." You pointed at the spaghetti which makes him nod weakly. "It's alright, definetely exceeded my expectations though." You nodded, "the taco shells really enhance the flavor I don't know how. The spaghetti is really good too!" You took another bite. "Your mental age really decreases depending on how good the food is." He commented.

You take a tissue from the side and wiped the corner of his lips, "don't be a hypocrite." He sighed, "that wasn't what I was trying to say." You both finished your food not long after and you volunteered to wash the dishes. Shinsou leaves you be and stays on the couch, Haru resting on his stomach while Snow was watching you from the ground.

"So you have this place all to yourself every single day?" You asked. "Kind of but not all the time, just mostly." He replied, petting Haru who was fast asleep. "So who cooks you meals and all that when no one is here?"

"Mom used to cook. She always left them on the fridge though. She would prepare them days early and all I need to do is microwave the food and dig in." Your eyes widened, "so you've lived off of microwave food your whole life?" You tried to hide how shocked you were but failed miserably. 

He shook his head, "I guess you could say that but she eventually stopped and just gave me money. So the convenience store down the street is my go to." You turned the tab off and placed everything at the side to dry. "So you've never tried learning how to cook?" You asked, making your way towards the living room where he was.

"I only knew how to cook basic things. Like eggs, bacon, rice, all that but never learned anything that required a recipe. Not until recently of course." He gestures to you which makes you smile widely. "At least you're getting better. If you're good at anything it's improving." You sighed, sitting down on a seat. He lifts his head up slightly to look at you, "whats that supposed to mean?"

"Well, when a person isn't good at something and they're interested in it, they try to improve and get better at it and it usually takes months and even years. In your case, you managed to get better in cooking in just what? A week? Not only that but your fighting skills have improved in just a few months. You improved so much you were accepted to the hero course. I don't know how you do it but it's amazing." You smile widely.

He sits up which startles Haru, jumping off of him. "You really.. think that way or are you saying that to be friendly like usual." You didn't look back at him and continued to pet Snow, "why would I be saying that to be friendly? Everyone thinks that way especially me." The room gets silent for a while before Shinsou sighed, failing to hide a smile on his face.

"You're pretty amazing too, (Y/N)." You raised your eyebrows and just shook your head lightly, "not really.. I'm alright," he placed his hands behind his head as he leaned back, "if you think I've improved a lot what does that make you?"

"You started school without much power.. you had a lot but if you used it too much you'd pass out and your wake up time differs on how exhausted your body is. But now you can easily do the tasks you weren't able to do in the past without a problem. If that's not amazing to you then.." he paused for a bit and was about to continue until the front door opens.

Your eyes quickly widened while he stood up from the couch. "Hitoshi, I'm home." An unfamiliar voice called out, panic all over Shinsou's face. "I didn't think you'd be coming." He said as he walked out of the room to greet the lady. "I finished work early today, what would you like for dinner?" You were silently panicking as well, you didn't know how to walk up to her and introduce yourself.

"Umm.. well before that I -" his mother raised her eyebrows, "what is it darling?" You gulped and finally revealed yourself, having a nervous smile on. His mother looks at him with wide eyes before looking back at you. "Oh - I'm sorry was I interrupting something or -"

He cleared his throat, "no. No you weren't, don't worry about it. Umm this is (Y/F/N). She's a friend from school." You bowed in front of her, "it's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Shinsou." She smiled lightly at you, "you're too polite. I'm Hitoshi's mother." You give him a look and he nods at you.

"Just a friend Hitoshi or -" he quickly nodded his head, "yes mother, she's a _friend_." He emphasized it louder which makes his mother smile and laugh, ruffling her son's hair, "you're growing up too fast for me."

You couldn't help but smile at their conversation. "It's getting late, (Y/N) shall I walk you home -" his mother cuts him off and walks over towards you, "no (Y/N) stay! Why don't you stay for dinner? I would like to hear more about you." You look over to Shinsou who was visibly annoyed.

Shaking your head, you forced a smile, "I really shouldn't. I don't want to cause any trouble." His mother scoffed, "don't worry! Its been a while since I met any of Hitoshi's friends. Make yourself at home it's the least I can do." You turn to look at Shinsou who sighed, shaking his head lightly. Smiling, you shook your head, "thank you mrs but I have to be home early today. Mom has guests over and I don't want to cause trouble here.."

You slowly took your bag that was on the couch along with your jacket, "it was a pleasure to meet you." You bowed before walking to the front door. Shinsou was about to follow you but you stopped him, "I'm fine." You give him a reassuring smile, putting your hand on his arm.

He sighed, "text me when you arrive safely alright? It's going to be dark soon." You nodded your head and bowed to his mother one last time and waved goodbye to him, closing the door behind you.

Shinsou turned around to look at his mother. "Why are you giving me that look?" She asked, her arms crossed on her chest. Shinsou shook his head, "it's nothing. You should've told me you were coming at least." He glanced at the clock and watched you cycle away from the window. 

"You should've told me you had a friend over especially if it's a pretty one. Do you like her?"

He groaned, "this is why I didn't want you to meet her yet. You assume so quickly." His mother quirks a brow, "maybe if you told me more about yourself I wouldn't have to go that far." Shinsou drops himself on the couch as he rubbed his face in frustration.

His mother looks at him before sighing, sitting down beside him. Shinsou leaned his head back, a sigh leaving his lips as he eyes the ceiling. "Now.. I know I haven't been spending as much time with you as I used to but.." she strokes his hair gently, "but I do notice how happier you've gotten."

Her son remains silent. "You're finally in your dream school and you'll be in the hero course next school year. Not only that but it seems like she's a genuinely kind person." Shinsou nodded his head, "she is." 

His mother smiled lightly, "I only knew that someone has been coming over. That alone was enough for me to be happy and I really wanted to meet this friend of yours that you mention to me. Though you didn't tell me much about them and just tell me someone is coming over, I didn't expect it to be a girl." A sigh left his lips, "not this again -"

"Do you like her?" He doesn't reply and just gave her a disappointed look.

"Don't give me that look, you can't blame me for asking that. She seems like a nice person - such a shame she had something to do at home." She sighed. "She's just a friend, nothing is going on between us." 

"Can't tell if you sound sad or mad about that." He quickly stood up, "yup I'm going to my room this conversation is stupid." He walks out of the living room which makes the cats follow him. His mother watched him leave, a smile plastered on her lips. "You're growing up too fast for me to catch up, Hitoshi."


	23. New School Year

Students had to move back into their dorms a week before school started. Their furniture and other belongings must be sent out days before their move to ensure a more productive and manageable move. You were fixing your red tie, making sure it was perfect.

Your door opens which reveals your mom. She looks at you and leans back on your door, her arms crossed on her chest as her smile grew wider. "You're starting your second year of high school already. It feels like it was yesterday when you went to that school just to take an entrance exam." You couldn't help but smile back, taking a few steps away from a mirror to get a better look of your uniform.

"I haven't worn this in ages." You said, brushing your hands down your skirt. "School doesn't start til next week, right?" You nodded your head. 

"Are you and Hitoshi walking to school together?" She asked which makes you shake your head. You playfully rolled your eyes, "he won't because he doesn't want to spoil the 'surprise' or whatever he's blabbing about." Your mom lets out a laugh and walks up to you, fixing your collar. "I'm sure he's dying to tell you but is holding back." She gently pats your shoulders, "go on now, you don't want to be late to your meeting with sir Aizawa don't you?"

You nodded your head with a smile, grabbing your knapsack that was on the bed. You and your mom head out the front door and she plants a kiss on your forehead, "don't go around causing trouble okay?" You sighed, smiling, "we've already talking about this." You whined as your mom gently strokes your hair.

You're growing up so fast. Make sure to text me when you need anything." You wave goodbye to each other and you were off to school. 

Now you didn't mind going to school without a bike. Now that you lived there, there wasn't really a reason to bring one with you. A few of your neighbors were out which makes you smile and wave at them, greeting them good morning. "I forgot how good you looked in uniform, (Y/N)." Mrs Usui compliments you. "Thank you so much," you smiled back at her and continued to walk.

You looked around and noticed how beautiful it was. It rained last night but everything was as beautiful as ever. You spotted a few cats wandering around here and there. Some were even sleeping on the rooftops of your neighbor's houses. The long walk continues until you spot two familiar faces walking the opposite direction.

The two faces spot you before smiling widely. Mina quickly runs towards you with her arms wide in the air, "(Y/N)!" She yelled loudly which causes people to turn their attention to you. Embarrassed, your face started turning bright red before you landed a punch on Mina's cheek making her stop.

"What did I tell you about yelling so early in the morning?" You glared at her. She laughed nervously, "sorry I got a bit too excited." Jirou sighed as she walks over to the two of you. You pull on Mina's arm and pull her into a hug, "we literally saw each other a week ago why are you so vocal about this?"

She giggled, hugging you back. "I just missed seeing you in uniform I guess." You pull away from each other before the three of you started walking inside of U.A.

"We changed dorms right?" You nodded your head, "yeah but the dorm is pretty much the same. Not sure with the room order though." The three of you continued walking to your dorm until you spotted a few people waving at your direction. The three of you already knew who they were so you all waved back. They were waiting outside of your dorm.

Almost everyone was there and they started talking to one another, catching up before Aizawa came. Not long after a few more of your classmates had arrived. "I wonder that this year will have for us." Kirishima smiled widely. "We're not the youngest ones now." Kaminari added as they all started laughing.

"I take that everyone is done with their greetings?" A voice came out of nowhere which makes everyone quiet. You all turned your heads towards the dorm and saw Aizawa by the front door. "Sir Aizawa!" You all called out in unison. "For your second year of high school, I will continue to be your homeroom teacher."

"I'm sure most of you have already read the letter we've sent to each student's homes. The rules regarding curfew and dorms will remain the same and there have been more added you can check the handbook, classes don't start until next week which means you'll be spending a whole week unpacking and moving in, and lastly rooms have been assigned."

Everyone had smiles on their faces, excited for the school year to begin. "And since those are the more general announcements, time for the last one." He placed his hands behind his back which makes everyone turn to each other with raised brows. "Someone will be joining Class A and it's none other than Shinsou Hitoshi."

"I can trust you all to be hospitable towards him." Everyone started looking around looking for him. "He's currently not here for I still need to hold an orientation. He'll come by the dorm once it's done. That is all, please head inside the dorm and start unpacking." He starts walking away and leaves your class alone.

"A new classmate, huh. Now this will be interesting!" Kirishima commented on before everyone started heading inside the dorm. They all looked at the names displayed out of every room and the room order has definetely changed. 

"Guess we're beside each other Tsuyu." You both nod at each other before heading inside your room. Your things were already inside but they weren't unpacked. Before anything, you took your phone out and texted Shinsou.

**You**  
_congratulations, Class A student_

You put your phone away and started unpacking. Your room still had the same furniture you had from last year so nothing was really new. It took you a while but you were eventually done in no time. 

You headed outside of your room and went downstairs where some of your classmates were. They were all gathered by the television talking about something. "Oh (Y/N)'s here. You done packing?" Midoriya asked which makes you nod, taking your seat on a vacant spot on the couch. "My room looks the same as last year so I didn't really think much about design. What are you guys up to?"

"We're done unpacking too and decided to wait for Shinsou to arrive." You nodded your head, "that's kind of you guys." 

"Well he will be classmates with us for the next 2 years." Iida explained. It was already the afternoon and it seemed like most of your classmates are done unpacking. Your phone makes a "ding" sound before the door opens which makes everyone turn their heads.

The indigo haired student with half lidded dark purple eyes entered the dorm, closing the door behind him. He notices people staring at him which makes him bow, "good afternoon." He greeted. Everyone around you got on their feet and approached him, practically surrounding him. "It's good to have you here Shinsou!" Kaminari said with a bright smile.

He nodded his head weakly, "yeah." Before he knew it he was being dragged by Kaminari and a few others to his room while you laughed to yourself. You checked on your phone to see the message.

**Toshi**  
_thanks_

You stayed in the common area with a few of your friends while the rest were either in their rooms or following Shinsou around. "Surprised you're not joining them bothering Shinsou, (Y/N)." Momo said as she leaned back on the couch. You chuckled, "seems like our class is excited to have a new face around. I'll hear from him about it later." You shrugged it off.

"He doesn't mind being followed around?" Tsuyu asked. Your lips formed a straight line as you thought to yourself, "all I know is he hates crowded places. I guess it differs on the person who's following him around." 

All of your head turn to look at the staircase once you heard Kaminari's voice. "What?! That's so awesome." He said loudly while following Shinsou around. You lock eyes with him and you give him a subtle smile, shrugging your shoulders at him. 

"You two aren't going to hangout? Thought you two would be inseparable the moment he would come but I guess I was wrong." You couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "I mean.. this is the first time I'm seeing him chat with anybody for this long that doesn't involve me. It's good seeing him branch out." 

Jirou laughed loudly, "you're eventually going to be replaced by Kaminari if this continues." You all looked at their direction again and Kaminari had this bright expression on him which was the polar opposite to what Shinsou had. You make eye contact with him and he starts mouthing something. You looked carefully at his lips and tried to read them. "Help me."

"Give me a second I forgot I had to do something." You got up from your seat and made your way towards Shinsou and Kaminari. "Excuse me to intrude, but can I borrow Shinsou from you for a sec?" You can feel him glaring at you from the side which makes you hold a laugh back. Nodding, Kaminari walks away and heads over to the couch.

He crossed his arms on his chest, "glad to know I'm nothing but an item to you." He sighed while you let out a laugh, "you know it's not like that." Shinsou chuckled, "your class is very..." he stopped and tries to say something.

"Loud? Obnoxious? Uhh.. annoying?" He shook his head, "I was gonna say very.. welcoming. More welcoming than I expected." He folded his arms as a sigh left his lips. "Is this what you were nervous about during call yesterday?" You asked him which makes him hum.

"I guess so. Not like I expected them to be friendly and very hospitable especially with how I've been talking to them. Are they always like this?" You nodded your head slowly, "even though we all see each other as opponents, we're still friends that care for each other. Reminds me of someone." You nudged his side with a big smile on your face which makes him smile too.

"So are you done unpacking?" He nodded his head, "I'm pretty much done." You turned to look at him with a smile on your face. He looks down at you and knew exactly what you were asking for despite not saying anything. Sighing, his hand came up to rub the back of his neck. "It's not that special. It's as plain and boring." 

"Okay and? You've been to my room _and_ I've never been to your dorm room last year so I might as well get the chance." With a nod of his head, you followed him. Shinsou's room was a floor higher than yours. Holding onto the knob, he opens it and revealing his living space. Like he has described, it was plain but you wouldn't necessarily call it boring.

It had the essentials: a bed, a coffee table, a nightstand, and a desk that had a laptop on it. He closes the door behind him as he watches you look around his room before sitting down on his bed. "I'd ask for your thoughts but I can already tell whats on your mind." Smiling, you let out a soft chuckle, "it's actually what I expected. This room screams you."

He didn't know if he should've taken that as an insult or a compliment. Nonetheless, he slowly sits down beside you. "You don't have a TV?" You turned your head to look at him. "I was debating but decided not to. You have the TV right?" A smile crept on the corners of his lips while you heaved a breath, "you're using me for my TV aren't you?"

Shinsou laughed before his gaze turns to the closed laptop. "We can watch movies in there if you'd like." You leaned back slightly, "you have a thing for movies. Is that one of the reasons to why your sleep schedule will be forever fucked?" You gave him a smug look. "Well growing up as a kid with this kind of Quirk I didn't really have friends. They'd even pretend I wasn't there sometimes." 

You felt your stomach twist into knots, regretting that you said that. Shinsou noticed your expression and quickly raises both of his hands, "it's okay you didn't upset me in anyway. Sorry that probably ruined the mood." You both let out nervous laughing. "Toshi," you called out which makes him raise his eyebrows.

You looked at him and immediately forgot what you were going to say once his dark purple orbs looked at yours. You've looked and seen Shinsou more than a handful of times and yet you can't help but get lost in his eyes every now and then especially when they're sparkling just the slightest bit. They were actual jewels. Gems that any person would want to get their hands on if they noticed how shiny and beautiful they were. 

His deep "what" snapped you back into your senses. You quickly let out a nervous laugh, "I - sorry I completely forgot what I was going to say.." you rubbed your nape lightly as a nervous laugh escapes from your lips. The indigo haired looked at you with a confused look on his face, not knowing if it was serious or not. He squint his eyes at you which makes you avert your eyes as he noticed a shade of pink dusted lightly on your cheeks.

"What were you thinking about?" You raised your eyebrows at him confused. "Just now. When you called me, you started zoning out and didn't say anything for a short while. What was that about?" You felt your face heating up, your cheeks and ears getting redder. You looked away to try to hide it but you knew Shinsou wasn't an idiot. 

"Nothing in particular.. I just thought about something and forgot what I was going to say that's all." Another nervous laugh comes out of you. Even though you weren't looking at your friend, you can feel his judging gaze at you. "What were you thinking about then? Surely it must be important that it made you forget what you were going to tel me." He tilted his head.

You couldn't bring yourself to tell him. What were you going to say anyway? "Aha, I forgot what I was going to say because your eyes are too beautiful." You shake your thoughts away, "it's nothing to worry about really. It's stupid." You can feel his eyes squinting more and more at you.

The door to Shinsou's room opens which reveals a few faces. "I knew you'd be here. Sir Aizawa is downstairs waiting for you. He said you have a visitor." You turn to look at Shinsou with a raised brow. Nodding, you head downstairs to meet your teacher and Shinsou decided to follow you.

"Sir Aizawa? What seems to be the problem?" You asked him. Sighing, "you should be the one explaining." Your brows furrowed in confusion, not knowing what the fuss was about. "There's a person that attempted to enter U.A. but failed and it triggered the alarms. The person is looking for you, goes by the name -"

Your eyes quickly shut close as a sigh leaves your lips the moment Aizawa revealed the name. You headed upstairs to your room and took a jacket before heading back down. "Hitoshi I'm sure it won't be a problem if I ask you to go with (Y/N)?" He slowly nodded his head to his mentor and assisted you outside.

You wore the jacket, arms folded on your chest. It was already dark out and you weren't expecting to see them so soon especially with no prior notice. Shinsou noticed your troubled expression which makes him clear his throat, "are you.. alright?"

Nodding your head, "I'm just confused that's all. You didn't have to -" he cuts you off when he glared at you. "Right, right. My bad -" you both soon arrived to the front gate of U.A. and you saw two heroes standing there. Quickly, rushed towards them and bowed.

"You kids have always been trouble makers since your firsshh grrrr -" Hound Dog starts to growl and howl as anger take over him. Bowing once again, "I won't let this happen again." You said and bowed to Ectoplasm before making your way to the person waiting. 

"(Y/N) there you are! You weren't responding to my messages so I decided to visit anyway." She smiled widely at you while you had your arms crossed. "Kim, this does not give you an excuse." You said and took out the phone in your pocket. "99+ MISSED MESSA -" you stopped yourself when you realized you were yelling. "Can a friend not be worried?" She pouts at you.

Sighing, "Kim I got in trouble because of this. Visitors aren't allowed in U.A. especially when school hasn't even started." Kim lets out a sigh, "some high security stuff you guys have here."

"I don't have time to chat right now since I'm going to get into even more trouble, can you tell me why you went all this way here?" Shinsou watched you from the side with his arms crossed on his chest. He could tell how tensed you were getting each second. "Like I said, I heard you were going to move back in and so I wanted to check up on you. I haven't seen you in such a long time after all." 

You pinched the bridge of your noise, trying not to look or sound annoyed but failing miserably. "We saw each other yesterday. And last week too." 

Kim walks over towards you and gives you a hug, her hand behind your head as she lowered it so it would rest on her shoulder while her other hand rubbed your back. "I just miss you, alright? After all you will be busy again once school starts." You start to calm down a bit before she pulls you away, hands on your shoulders. "I'll be going now." 

She gives you a smile and you force one out. Kim waves you goodbye and walks away. You watched her back as she walked to a different direction, hands inside her pockets. "You didn't tell me you two hungout during break." Shinsou takes a step closer towards you. You don't respond and just let out a sigh.

"Please head back to your dorm now." Ectoplasm said while Hound Dog was behind him. You nodded your head weakly and started walking back with Shinsou. "Why didn't you tell me -"

"It doesn't matter, Toshi. I didn't tell you because it's not your concern." You didn't mean for it to sound as harsh as it did. You rubbed your face in frustration as you let out a whimper. He watches you breakdown slowly and decides to leave you alone. The moment you two arrived in the dorm all your classmates were seated by the dining area.

All their heads turn back to you and Shinsou as he closed the door behind him. "(Y/N) may you follow me outside?" Aizawa calls out which makes you nod your head. 

"Shinsou," he turned his head and saw Kaminari waving at him. With raised brows, he walked over to his table. "Is (Y/N) in that big of trouble?" He asked which makes him shrug his shoulders, "I'm.. not so sure." He said as he watched you head outside with his mentor, a mix of sad and annoyed all over your face.


	24. Breakfast

The next morning has come. Shinsou opened his eyes to the sound of knocking on the door making him groan as he checked the time on his phone. A very sloppy and inaudible "what" left his lips and the door opens. "Shinsou I was just stopping by to tell you that breakfast was ready if you were hungry." The indigo haired male slowly sat up from his bed, the back of his hand rubbing an eye as a yawn escaped his mouth.

His vision was still blurry but after squinting his eyes a bit more he could see just enough to know who it was. "I'll be down in a minute just.. give me 5 minutes." He said slowly lying back down. "Still sleepy?" The blond asked as he watched his friend struggling to get up. Groaning, Shinsou grabs the end of his blanket and removes it on him, getting up on his two feet.

Kaminari couldn't help but smile at Shinsou's expression. He looked even more tired than he usually is not only that but his hair was 10x as messy and all over the place. Shinsou noticed the blond holding back a smile and a laugh, making him sigh as he knew what it was all about. Slowly he made his way towards the mirror and fixed his hair just enough to look somewhat presentable.

The two boys left his room and used to elevator to head downstairs. The metal doors open and they walked out. "Morning," he exchanged greetings with his new classmates. For a second he thought that he slept in the wrong dorm or was dreaming. "You look shittier than usual." Bakugou comments from the side as his eyes landed on Shinsou.

"Bakugou," Kaminari looked at his unbothered friend who continued to drink the beverage in his hand peacefully. Shinsou takes his seat at a vacant table and Kaminari sits in front of him. "Is everyone done eating but me?" He asked, voice deeper. Kaminari hummed, "I guess so. Everyone's either in their rooms or out working out." He points to the front door making the indigo head nod.

Shinsou takes out his phone inside his pocket and checks if he had missed any messages. A sigh left him when there wasn't any, looking down at the food in front of him. Clasping his hands together, he lets out a silent "thank you for the meal" before digging in.

He was tense and uncomfortable while eating, putting food in his mouth slowly as his eyes wander around the room freely. The blond who sat in front of him was observing him with every move, not saying a word. He coughs and tries to think of something to talk about to make things less awkward. "I don't know if this is the right time but.. can you tell me more about your Quirk?"

His half lidded eyes quickly turned wide, a shocked look on his face. "What?" He raised his brows at the blond, not expecting that question to come out of him. Kaminari's expression quickly dropped the moment Shinsou replied, his eyes widening as he shook his head violently. "I didn't mean to bring it out of the blue I'm sorry -" he leans back on his chair and crossed his arms.

"It's just.. ever since you and I were teammates last school year, I couldn't stop thinking about your Quirk." His hand forms a fist and looks at the pair of dark purple eyes with passion, "it's really cool!" He commented. Shinsou would've thought this was a prank of some sort if he didn't know Kaminari's personality as much. Awkwardly, he rubbed the back of his neck as his shoulders shrugged weakly, "they're okay."

"How did you even discover you had that Quirk in the first place?" Shinsou chewed on his food before swallowing, "hmm.. I think it was when.." his eyes looked up as he tried to recall the earliest memory before his lips parted, "I think it was when I was bullied." The conversation that started off with the two of them now felt like the whole room's discussion.

Though they didn't walk up to the two personally, they were listening to his story. He didn't mind it at all, he just didn't expect this much people to listen or give a damn. "You were bullied as a kid?!" Kaminari exclaimed his jaw dropping. Shinsou nodded his head weakly, "I wasn't really known to start fights or finish them. People back then just saw me as someone to mess with."

"I've told this story a couple of times and it still feels wrong in my part." He mumbled to himself but everyone heard it. "Long story short I accidentally activated my Quirk but I didn't do anything wrong or gruesome with it. I just yelled stopped and they surprisingly did. After his friends knew it was my doing, they started calling me names like freak before running away."

"That must've suck." Kaminari had a saddened look on his face. "I don't know if I should be thankful for my Quirk or not though. Yeah it's villainous but.. once they all found out about it they all collectively stopped picking on me. Not that it completely stopped but, it got less violent for sure." His voice was deep and blank as usual. Not a hint of emotion in his voice but everyone in the room that was listening couldn't help but be saddened.

"How'd you experiment with it?" The moment that question left Kaminari's lips a wave came crashing down on Shinsou that ate him whole. He knew if he said it, it would leave a bad impression on him and people might fear him like how they used to. He felt cold sweat all around his body, unable to form any words and just spaced out. Kaminari continues to wait for him to reply, "are you.. okay Shins -"

A smack on his shoulder makes him snap back into reality, turning his head to the side as someone took the seat beside him, placing their tray down. He looks up and watches you take your seat. "Oh crap sorry - was I interrupting something?" You quickly apologized to the two which makes Kaminari shake his head, "oh you weren't interrupting at all."

You take one glance at Shinsou and send him a quick and small smile before looking down on your tray filled with food. Shinsou smiled to himself when he realized what you have just done before turning his head to look at the blond. "Yeah I'm fine, I just remembered something."

You had just woken up and Mina was knocking violently on your door telling you to wake up before slamming it open. You lectured her for a good 10 minutes about how she could've broken your door and could've gotten you in trouble (again). When you two headed downstairs it seemed like you arrived at the right moment. 

Shinsou was explaining to Kaminari that he used to get bullied a lot even way before his Quirk showed up and judging from the heads and expressions of your classmates, you could tell they were all listening as well. Then you saw it before your eyes. Shinsou was caught off guard and the moment you saw him rub his nape nervously as he goes deep into thought, you knew you had to do something.

"Did you guys hear about the rumors? I heard a few students talking that there might be a new teacher and a new subject will be added." Your words made Kaminari's eyes go wide as his jaw dropped. His hands were slammed on the table, "you got to be kidding." He exclaimed which makes you nod at him. "I can't believe it myself."

Quickly, he got on his feet and took the tray with him. "I gotta tell Sero and Kirishima about this!" He said and left the room running. You giggled silently as you put a toast in your mouth watching the blond run to his friends across the room.

"Thank you." Shinsou blurts out which makes you raise a brow at him. Smiling, you shook your head, "no problem." 

"I can't do this opening up bullshit you keep talking about." He sighed, frustration in his tone. You gave him a reassuring smile, "just because I told you to open up a bit more doesn't mean you should blurt out your whole life story. Give it some time, I'm glad you did that. Baby steps, remember?" His tensed up body calms down a bit after hearing your words.

"You're opening up faster than I thought." You said with a mouthful of food. He looks at you with his arms crossed on his chest nodding. 

"So what happened last night with sir Aizawa?" You felt yourself choke and start coughing violently. Quickly, Shinsou flashes you the most concerned and worried look before handing his glass of water to you. You willingly took it from him and chugged it down your system. "Judging from your reaction it didn't go so good."

You sighed, feeling your headache from last night coming back. "How long was it?" He asked you and seeing you groan was enough for a smirk to perk up on the corner of his lip, "His lecture.. lasted for almost an hour and a half."

"He went easy on you." He comments with a smile while you continue to whine, "he did but it seemed like time was slower than ever and felt like I was there for _hours._ "

"And about Kim.." you heaved a breath, "shes been texting me yesterday but my phone was on silent mode. She did text me that she was coming over but because I didn't respond, she thought I was avoiding her." You scratched the back of your head in frustration. "I mean if you were.. still doesn't give her the right to come over without permission." 

You didn't respond and just nodded your head in defeat. "And when you said _"it's none of your concern"_ yesterday -" you cut him off with an apology. "That was very selfish of me to say, I'm really sorry. I was just stressed out about the situation since we literally just arrived yesterday and I already got in trouble." 

Shinsou watches you sink lower to your seat as a sigh escapes from your lips, pouting slightly. "I was actually going to say that you were right." You look at him with furrowed brows, subconsciously telling him to explain further more. 

"We already had this conversation before, didn't we? That _I'm_ not in charge of who you hangout with. Whoever you hangout with, I will continue to respect and be there for you but, when something terrible happens or if something seems wrong to me, I won't hesitate to step forward." 

You looked at him with a blank look on your face before a bright smile appears. You've always admired Shinsou for many things. He was an honest person and always voiced out his opinions on something when he needs to, he was also protective but it wasn't too much to the point you felt like you're being too dependent on someone, and overall he was an amazing person and friend to you. His tough and quiet exterior was the complete opposite to his personality.

"I'm not going to pretend like I wasn't pissed or disappointed last night though." He lets out a sigh as if he had just regretted saying that. "What she did to you was wrong and disrespectful. Are you still.." he hesitates and you quickly noticed.

"Am I still what, Toshi?" You looked at him in the eyes and waited for him to finish. Slowly, he nodded his head. "Did you two maybe chat last night? Right after what happened to you or?" You shook your head but also shrugged your shoulders, "we didn't but.. we did call though." 

"Did she apologize?" The moment you averted your eyes from his he knew exactly what your answer was. "(Y/N) -"

"I know, I know." You nod your head ashamed. "What else happened?" You gulped, "we just talked to be honest. It lasted til.." you look up at the clock, "8AM." 

You quickly looked away from Shinsou but you can still feel his cold gaze at you, "(Y/N) that was an hour and a half ago did you even get sleep -"

"I managed to close my eyes and sleep for 15 minutes before Mina barged in and told me about breakfast." You cut him off and had a confident smile on your face but Shinsou wasn't impressed in any shape or form at all. He looks closely into your face which makes you nervous. He lets out a sigh, "the dark circles under your eyes look bad, you should get some shut eye."

"I'm completely woken up now though -" he glares at you which makes you stop mid-sentence. Nodding your head in defeat, "fine." Before you could take your tray, he takes it from you along with his. "Go to your room and get some sleep, I'll wash yours for you." By the tone of his voice you knew it was better to not argue.

You made your way towards the steps, "I'll check up on you if you really did get sleep." He said which makes you sigh, "you're embarrassing." You blurt out before climbing up the steps smiling.

* * *

"That took longer than expected." He said as he put the last plate aside to dry. Originally he planned on just washing yours and his but ended up washing everyone's. He didn't mind though, chores wasn't really a problem to him. Shinsou wiped his wet hands on a towel nearby before making it up the steps.

He walked down the hall and stood in front of your door. Gently, he twisted the knob and carefully opened the door and takes a peek inside. And there you were, sleeping peacefully on your bed, snoring lightly. He smiled lightly at you and was about to close the door until he heard your phone ring.

Shinsou opened the door and walks over to your nightstand where your phone was and takes it. "Jeez at least put your phone in silent mode -" his eyes widened when they landed on the notification. His blood started boiling as he looked down at your device in his hand.


	25. First Day

He walked outside of your room and closes the door behind him. Shinsou looked down at your device in his hand with guilt and anger circulating his bloodstreams. He knew it was wrong to snoop into _your_ business. He knew it was wrong to snoop into _anyone's_ business. 

Shinsou walks to his room and closes the door. He sat on his bed as he looked at your phone, not knowing if he should do it or not. He didn't want you to get mad at him and give you a reason to no longer trust him, that was the last thing he ever wanted. Your phone starts ringing again, making him snap out of his train of thought.

Sighing, he answers the phone.

"(Y/N) I'm so glad you answered!" Kim's voice was excited as ever while Shinsou's grip on your phone tightened the moment he heard her voice. Calming down a bit, he finally speaks. "Hi Kim,"

A startling noise came out of Kim's lips and he heard it. "W-Who's this?" He scratched the back of his head before replying, "it's.. Shinsou." Kim lets out a relived breath, "where's (Y/N) and why do you have her phone?"

 _"Straight to the point."_ He thought.

"I just tucked her in to sleep and while I was doing so you happened to be calling over and over again." He answered, leaning back a bit while his free hand was supporting his weight behind him. "So.. you just grabbed her phone without permission?" It stabbed Shinsou right in the gut when those words came out of her, he hated that she was right and that's what made him even angrier.

"All I'm saying is can you please.. tone it down?" 

_"What are you saying?"_

She hummed, "what do you mean by tone it down?" He gulped, feeling the pressure a bit, "it's not my business to begin with but I noticed that you've been stressing (Y/N) out and it's not really.." he couldn't find the right word to say which makes Kim chuckle, "not really what, Shinsou?"

"Necessary." He finishes. Kim sighed and he could tell she was just getting as frustrated as he was, "so are you two dating or something? What's the big deal? And if you are dating it's not a very good boyfriend look on you to be snooping on your own girlfriend's phone." 

"We're not. I'm her friend, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't care for her as much just cause we're not dating." He didn't know what to feel more guilty about: the fact that he took your phone without your permission and answered a call _or_ the fact that he was actually considering on brainwashing her.

"If (Y/N) no longer wants me around, I'll gladly do so but-" she paused, making Shinsou raise a brow.

"-if it's just coming out of _your_ mouth then I won't listen." Just when he thought the call was going to be over, Kim continues. 

"So if you're not in a relationship together, tell me," 

"Do you have feelings for (Y/N)?"

* * *

You had woken up from your sleep not too long ago. You looked at yourself in the mirror, straightening your uniform and fixing your vibrant red tie while your pink friend was by your desk waiting for you to finish.

"We're going to be late!" She whined, sinking lower and lower on the seat she was sitting on. Letting out a sigh, you fix your uniform one last time before turning to look at her, "lets go."

The two of you walked down the steps and proceeded towards the front door where a few of your classmates were. "Morning," you and Mina greeted them in unison making them turn their heads towards you both. "Morning," Shinsou and Kaminari replied with two different tones; the other being happy and energetic while the other was deep and didn't have the same amount of enthusiasm. 

"You two heading out?" Mina asked which makes the two nod. "Why don't we four walk together?" Kaminari suggests and looks at the three of you. Shinsou shrugged his shoulder, "I don't mind," while Mina nodded her head with her usual teethy smile and now all heads were looking at your direction. "Let's go."

The two were walking in front, jumping around as their voices were getting louder and louder with excitement. You and Shinsou on the other hand were quite the opposite. You looked over at him and flashed a small smile, "so are you excited to be in the hero course?" You broke the silence. He looks at you and nodded his head slightly, "kind of- mostly nervous."

Smiling, you gently smacked his shoulder without a warning which makes him flinch. "You're going to do great, don't worry too much about it." Although a smile never came out of him, you noticed his eyes were looking more relaxed than they were.

"Are you guys senior citizens or something?! WALK FASTER!" Mina starts walking backwards as she glares at you and Shinsou. You heaved a breath, "if it'll shut you up then fine." You started walking faster and looked at Shinsou, "I'm sorry," you mouthed which managed to make him smile, following your pace. 

Yesterday Aizawa went to Class 2-A's dorm and had already explained the new seat plan for the new school year. You were now on Seat 8, the nearest friend being Jirou who was right beside you at Seat 3. You settled on your seat and put your bag down, "morning Iida," you greeted the boy who was sitting in front of you, his posture scarily proper as usual. 

Turning his back, he raises his hand towards you, "a pleasant morning to you as well, (Y/N)." His voice was bold and forward as ever. You took your seat and heaved a breath, a smile creeping on your face. You missed the feeling of being inside a classroom and the thought of using your Quirk for training made you smile even wider. Since Midnight instructed you to take a rest and not be involved in any hero work for the whole time school was over, you've been dying to get back on your feet again.

You looked around and saw Shinsou at the corner of the classroom. He was on Seat 16, right next to Midoriya who sat on Seat 11. Jirou looks over at you and calls for your attention. Turning your body to face her, you looked at her with raised brows. "After school today, can you train with me?"

Her random question makes you furrow your brows in confusion at first before your expression softens, "sure but.. why so suddenly?" She looks at you with all seriousness, you couldn't help but swallow. "I just need to test something out and I need to test it with your.. Quirk." She said the word 'Quirk' with caution which makes you raise a brow.

"I don't mind, where will we meet?" She tells you the details and you noted it inside your head. The bell rings not shortly after which makes Iida stand up immediately. "Everybody please form a line outside for the opening ceremony will be held in the gymnasium!" He exclaimed, making some people inside your class jump. Kirishima, not too far from where you sat, let out a chuckle, "I missed having Iida around." He said with a smile on his face.

And just as told, everyone formed a line outside of the classroom before walking to the gymnasium. You were walking between Shoji and Sero, "what about you (Y/N)? How was break for you?" You hummed, "it went okay, I guess. Just wished I could've done some hero work with Midnight but.." you let out a sigh. 

"She didn't allow you, right?" Shoji asked and you nodded, "sadly yeah, she said I've already done so much and that I should take a break." There was a hint of irritation in your voice, you weren't sure if they noticed it or not. "Oh what about Shinsou?"

You couldn't help but find it funny how every time Shinsou's name was brought up, all eyes would be on you automatically. You weren't bothered by it but it would be nice if they approached him and talked to him themselves instead of using you as a communication service of some sort. 

"What about him?" You asked them with a raised brow. "You two are close, right? Totally didn't saw that coming a mile away but-" 

He wasn't wrong though. If you could earn ¥100 every single time someone mentioned Shinsou to you or commented on your relationship with him you could be a millionaire at this point. 

"I get that a lot," you said with a slight smile and your class had finally arrived in the gymnasium, the opening ceremony about to start.

* * *

The bell for lunch rung, making everyone get up on their feet and get into groups before leaving the room. You looked over at Shinsou with worry, seeing that he was still seated. You were just about to confront him until Midoriya starts talking to him with a smile on his face. That put you at ease a bit when you saw him nod his head at the green head before getting up shortly after.

You lock eyes with him and give him a smile, waving your hand at him. He looks at you right raised brows before waving back. "(Y/N) you coming?" Jirou asked you who was waiting by the door with Mina and Momo. Quickly nodding your head, you left the classroom with them.

You finished lunch earlier than any of your friends. You took your tray back to the lunch lady and went back to your table, "I gotta go guys, miss Midnight wants to see me." You told them and they waved you goodbye. 

As you were walking out of the cafeteria, you had bumped into someone on the way out. "Toshi," you called out which makes him halt. He turned to look at you wide slightly widened eyes, brows raised. "You heading to the library?" You asked him and he shook his head lightly, "sir Aizawa wanted to see me, what about you?"

"Uhh- same reason actually but with miss Midnight." He nodded his head and you both decided to walk to the teacher's lounge together. He knocks on the door while you waited behind him. 

The door opens not shortly after and it was Cementoss who answered. "We're here to see miss Midnight and sir Aizawa." Shinsou says when he asked the students what they were doing there. With a nod of his head, he turned around and called for the teachers.

Aizawa walked out of the lounge and meets your gaze, "Midnight is waiting for you inside, feel free to enter." He gestures to the door and you nod at him, walking past Shinsou and his mentor. You entered the room filled with teachers and Midnight was waving her hand at you from the distance.

You made your way towards her and she greeted you with the biggest smile on her face, holding onto your hands. "Its been a while, don't you think? How have you been?" She asked you and you nod at her with a smile, "I've been doing well!"

The conversation continues for a while until she asked what you've been doing during break. "I guess you can say I practiced from time to time but I didn't do it daily." You told her as her mouth forms an 'o' shape. "Have you improved though?" She asked you. Nodding your head slightly, "I think so.. I haven't really tested it out since I had no one to practice with." 

"Well you better show me how much you've improved without me. If you manage to impress me more than you already have, I might make you my sidekick again sooner than planned." And with that you looked at her with bright eyes, "I won't let you down!" She lets out a giggle, amused to see that you were just as motivated and determined from the first time she asked you.

The bell rings and she tells you to head back to class. You walked out of the teacher's lounge and closed the door behind you, eyes widening when you saw Shinsou waiting outside with his arms crossed. "What are you-" he walks up to you with his lips forming a straight line, "thought I should wait for you."

"No it's too big of a hassle you should go to your clas-" you quickly stopped when he gave you a certain look. Quickly turning your head away, you hid the bottom half of your face with your hand, embarrassed. "C-Crap I forgot we were.." Shinsou lets out a chuckle before patting your head lightly, "it's alright. Shall we?"

The two of you walked towards your classroom and while he was talking to you, you kept your head down low, still embarrassed about what you had just said. You completely forgot and was so used to him being in a different class as you. _"He probably thinks I think lowly of him or something."_ You thought to yourself with a slight frown.

Shinsou cleared his throat, "(Y/N)?" Startled, you lift your head up and turned to look at him, "sorry I completely zoned out." You rubbed the back of your head, a nervous laugh leaving your lips. "If it's about what you said, I really don't mind. It's still the first day of school so I don't really expect you to get used to-"

"No that was completely my fault. I won't make the same mistake again." He looks at you with shock but before he could respond to you, you opened the door to your classroom and headed towards your seat. He watches you and when you were finally seated, he closes the door behind him and makes his way to his.


	26. Chapter 26

You headed to the backyard of the dorm, wearing your gym clothes. Closing the door behind you, you lock eyes with Jirou who was seated. "Sorry for taking a while, Aizawa had something to tell me while I was on the way back to the dorm." You explained while she shook her head, getting up on her two feet. 

"If we're going to uh, fight against each other are you sure it's okay to do it here?" You asked as she smirked at you. "Don't worry I just wanted to try something out with yours." She takes a step closer towards you and tells you her plan.

"So.. basically you think if we both fought one day, you would have no chance against me?" You raised a brow at her, pointing at yourself while she nodded her head. "I looked into your classmates and realized that I have somewhat of a chance to win when it comes to battling with them but with you on the other hand," she folds her arms on her chest and faces you with a serious look on her face.

"I won't lose to anyone." She deadpans, eyes piercing right at you. Chuckling, you give her a grin, "well what's the hold up?"

* * *

Shinsou arrived back at the dorm and noticed everyone gathered by the windows. Raising his eyebrows, "what's happening?" He asked as he approached them. 

"Jirou challenged (Y/N) to a friendly fight and it seems like Jirou is on the lead." Tsuyu explained, eyes glued to the two of you fighting outside. Shinsou starts spectating too and he was shocked to see what was happening.

Watching you made him realize that he has never seen you fight right in front of him before. He only heard the news about you helping out with the whole league of villains situation but never saw it in action. 

Momo joins in the conversation, "it may look like Jirou is winning but in reality.." she pauses, a frown slightly visible on her, "but (Y/N) is just dodging her attacks and is going easy on her." 

Jirou finally lands a hit on you using her attack "Heartbeat Distortion". You ended up landing on your feet but there wasn't much damage on you. "Quit going easy on me! I know you're holding back!" She raised her voice at you which catches you off guard. "I can't train myself to be better if you just keep going easy on me. Give me your all!" The hurt look on her face stabbed you right in the gut.

Nodding your head, you let out a quiet "okay" before finally attacking. You start running towards her which startles her at first. Quickly, she attempts to stop you with her Quirk, sound waves getting stronger. Using your Quirk, you quickly boost yourself up in the air and over her, dodging her attacks easily. She turns around and attempts to fight you off but failed miserably when she loses her balance.

Quickly, you grabbed her wrist before she could fall. "Shit are you okay-" she pulls her hand away from yours and clicks her tongue in irritation. You looked at her with a mix of confusion and worry, not knowing what happened. "Why did you go easy on me?! You could've just finished me off like that in just 10 seconds if you weren't making me make a fool out of myself." 

Her irritated tone make you look down in shame. "Were you serious pitying me just now? Do you think you're above everyone?" Your eyes widened at her remark and she reacts the same way right away, covering her mouth. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that.." her voice softens as you see her eyes start to water.

"It just feels like.. I'm falling behind." You looked down at her hands which form into fists, trembling slightly due to how tight they were clenched. Smiling lightly, you take her hand and put it between yours, squeezing it gently. "You're not falling behind, Kyouka. You're as strong as everyone else in here, don't look down at yourself so easily."

She doesn't smile or have any reaction at all except for devastation. Sighing, "I know going easy on you was my mistake, I shouldn't have done it. And no I don't think I'm better than anyone else. It's.. actually the opposite," you let out an awkward laugh, letting go of her hand to rub your nape. "In my opinion, _I'm_ the one falling behind which motivates me to get better and better."

"I'm envious of everyone in our class because everyone's so talented and strong, how am I supposed to compete?" Jirou slowly nodded her head which makes you gently punch her shoulder, "don't be so hard on yourself. Here, why don't we do this again soon? I won't do anymore tricks, I promise." The smile you gave her manages to rub off, making her smile as well.

She nodded her head, "deal."

You headed back inside while Jirou wanted to stay a bit longer at the back to practice. You closed the door behind you as a sigh left your lips. "That was impressive." A deep voice startles you but you calmed down when you knew who it belonged to.

"Is sneaking up on people one of the many talents you have?" You teased him which manages a chuckle to escape from his lips. "You did pretty good." He offers you a white facial towel. You took it from his hand and used it to wipe your sweat, "thanks but I'm guessing you saw the scene that happened out there too, huh?" His startled expression and silence was a clear answer to you. 

"It's fine, I won't get mad at you or anything. I'm at fault anyway." You let out a sigh before folding the towel. "I've been a bitch to those around me the whole entire day I shouldn't be surprised at this point." Even though you let out a short laugh, Shinsou knew right away you were faking.

"If this is about what you said to be earlier today it really didn't bother me or anything." Your lips parted, "and no I didn't find it offensive either. It was just a simple mistake, it wasn't like you were looking down on me or anything." He cuts you off, his lips forming a straight line. You look up at him with a raised brow which makes him heave a breath, putting his hands on your shoulders for reassurance.

"You're not hurting anybody, alright? You're only going to end up hurting yourself if you continue thinking that way." He says, moving you back and forth lightly as if it was a wake up call. You couldn't help but start laughing making him raise his eyebrows in confusion.

You stopped and gave him a bright smile, shaking your head. "I just found you cute just now." You said which makes his eyes widen. Nodding, "thank you for that, I really needed it." You both look at each other for a while in silence but it wasn't the awkward kind. It went on like that for a little while before Mina came rushing down the stairs calling for you.

"(Y/N) do you understand the English homework?" She makes her way towards you as you let out a sigh. "Didn't I already teach you in school? Basically it goes like this-" you started trailing off while Shinsou looks at you from the side with his hands deep inside his pockets. Mina turns her head to look at Shinsou and gives him a smile, "are you good at English, Shinsou?" She asked the male.

He looks around and hums, "I'm not particularly good at it but I'm also not too bad at it." He explains which makes Mina nod her head, "you always seemed like a smart student to me not gonna lie.." she rubbed her chin lightly, thinking. "Is that an insult or compliment?" Mina lets out a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well, why don't you and (Y/N) teach some of us?" It took him a while to reply but eventually he parted his lips, "I wouldn't mind to but I don't think I can do it daily or frequently since I can be busy." He folded his arms. The conversation continues until you tell Mina to continue with her unfinished homework.

She gives you a pout, "you're so mean." You heaved a breath, "maybe after you finish your work we can continue this conversation." You pat her shoulder and send her off which leaves you and Shinsou alone once again.

"So where's your electric friend at?" You asked him with a smile which makes him sigh, "he's with Kirishima I think. Not necessarily sure to be honest."

"I know I ask this question nonstop but how's Class A so far?" You asked. He looks around and tries to think to himself, humming silently. "I can't really say much other than you guys are very... _close_." You couldn't help but let out a subtle laugh, "why do you sound slightly disgusted?"

Shinsou lets out a sigh as a slight smile appears on his lips, "well unlike you guys I'm not necessarily used to this much attention." You raised your eyebrows, "how did your old classmates treat you then?" You asked. "Not that far actually except when I tell them that I'm busy or have something to do they just leave me alone without a problem. Meanwhile in here I feel like I have to answer 10-15 questions as to why I'm going out for a simple walk."

You let out a cheerful laugh, "that's usually how it goes here. Sure it can be annoying sometimes but.. it's good to see all of them care."

"By the way, have you been talking to Kim recently?" He changes the topic. "Well, we only really text and sometimes call. But that's about it." He nods his head at you before looking away. Raising your eyebrows, "why did something happen?"

He shook his head, "not in particular. I just wanted to check up on you as usual." It gets silent for a while before you finally let out a laugh, ruffling his indigo hair playfully which makes his eye wide. You pull your hand away before shoving it inside your pocket, looking up at his even messier hair now. You tried to hold in your laugh but he already noticed your reddening face.

"I'll get you back eventually." He says as he runs his fingers thru his hair, trying to fix the mess you've made. "Aww but you looked like a baby lion." He rolled his eyes at you, "are you done teasing?" You giggled before shaking your head, "I'll never be done with teasing."


	27. Chapter 27

"As you all may know, it'll be your first examination for the semester in two weeks. I don't want to see anyone fail and start studying in advanced. Of course, those who fail will be taking extension classes everyday after school for 2 weeks. Weekends as well. That'll be all for now, you're free to do whatever." Your teacher says before slipping inside his bright yellow sleeping bag that he brings everywhere.

"Exam's in two weeks, huh.." you thought to yourself as you zoned out, biting the tip of your pen as you do. "(Y/N), have you started studying yet?" Jirou asks you which makes you snap back into reality. "Kind of. I've only opened my book a few times this week because of training and a few other things." 

She sighs, leaning forward on her desk as she rests her cheek on the palm of her hand, "it felt like school started yesterday and now we're having our first exam of the year." You couldn't help but chuckle, "honestly we should be used to it by now especially after what happened on our _first year_." She smiled, "you're right."

The day went on normally until it was lunch time. "(Y/N) are you coming?" Tsuyu asked you. You looked up at her and shook her head before getting up from your seat, "I won't be eating today. I have a few things to do in the library." Your friends nod and leave the classroom. 

You took a notebook out from your bag but paused when you felt someone standing beside you. "You're skipping lunch?" He asked. You look up at him and nod, "I'm not feeling hungry anyway, it's fine. I need to borrow a few books from the library for the exams. What about you? Are you gonna ea-" he grabs your wrist and starts dragging you outside of your classroom without a warning.

"Toshi what are you doing?" You asked him as he continued to drag you. "Taking you to the cafeteria, obviously. You're not skipping a meal." You chuckled, "I don't want to hear that from you, you skip meals more than I do. Again, I'm fine, alright? It's not like I skip lunch daily." He starts to slow his pace down, finally turning his head to look at you, "just buy a sandwich."

You take the last bite from your sandwich and finally entered the library. "Are you happy now?" He hummed, "more or less."

* * *

Exams were right around the corner and some of your friends were planning on doing a group study. "I have to pass, but if you have any questions feel free to ask me." Momo says with a smile on her face. Mina lets out a loud groan, "I don't understand a single thing, I'm in trouble." You turned your head and glared at her, "I told you to start studying in advanced but as usual you haven't even touched a single textbook of yours."

She sighs, "either way I wouldn't have understood a thing-" you landed a chop on her side making her freeze before letting out a yelp, "(Y/N) that hurt!" She said as she rubbed the part you just hit. "(Y/N) isn't wrong y'know. Hasn't she been tutoring you almost everyday?" Jirou raised a brow at your pink friend who simply pouts, folding her arms on her chest as she lets out a "hmph," 

"Let's just hold a group study without Momo and (Y/N) since they always help us." You let out a deep breath, "not to toot your own horn but, without me, Momo, and Jirou can you really survive? I mean, who's going to stop you guys from distractio-"

Mina lets out a scoff, waving her hand around with a smirk plastered on her lips, "you're worrying too much about us." You and Momo look at each other with the same expression on your faces before letting out a sigh. "If you need help with anything don't hesitate to-"

"Oh you're just in time, we were planning on playing Just Dance want to join?" Mina's hands formed into fists as her eyes grew wide and you swore you could see flames in them, "you don't even need to ask, of course I'm-" she stopped her tracks when she felt your glare from behind. Swallowing, she nervously laughed as she rubbed the back of her head, "n-never mind- I need to study!"

You let out a sigh while Momo couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay, (Y/N)." She says to you comfortingly. You made your way upstairs to your room while the others stayed at the common area. You walked up to your door and entered your room, closing the door behind you. 

Walking up to your closet, you changed into fresh new clothes and put your uniform in the laundry basket at the corner of your room. You took a few books out from your school bag before taking your seat by the desk. Letting out a sigh, you placed your books down in front of you and started to study for the upcoming exams. 

Before dorms were implemented by the school, you'd usually be by yourself in your room studying but ever since you started living with your classmates, you've gotten used to having at least one person to study with. 

You've been studying for over 3 hours and you've learned nothing. Not a single thing has stayed inside your head. You leaned back and let out a groan, "what to do.." you started spacing out and was eventually woken up by a knock on the door. "C-Come in," you said, sitting up straight as you waited for someone to enter.

Your door opens which reveals a tall figure, "you're not eating dinner?" You nodded your head, "I already ate a while ago so I'm still kind of full." You looked back at your opened books and let out a faint sigh. You hear the door close and heard faint footsteps approaching where you sat, suddenly something was looming over you. "What are you studying?"

"Physics. Nothing is staying inside my head though." You heaved a breath before resting your cheek on the palm of your hand. "Well, you should really stop skipping meals, I'll cook you something." Shinsou says to you in his usual deep voice. You shook your head, "I'm really fine, you don't have to worry about me." You give him a reassuring look but he wasn't buying any of it.

He lets out a sigh, "do you not remember what happened last year? You were literally a walking corpse." You shook your head, "that was in the past! I'm not the same person who I used to be." Shinsou doesn't say a thing and just stares at you for a while, making you avert your eyes from his nervously.

"Then what's wrong?" He asked. You raised your eyebrows, "what do you mean?" 

"Just a minute ago you said that nothing was staying inside your head. You're going to end up pulling an all nighter before the exams even happened. Did something happen?" He asked, shoving his hands inside his pockets. "Well, it's.. kind of embarrassing. I'm just overthinking maybe, I don't know. It's really no big deal. I'll probably sleep at 12AM like usual."

He raised a brow, " _probably?_ " You gulped, nodding your head, "y-yeah?" Shinsou lets out a sigh, "even you're unsure." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around your room. It got silent until he suddenly walked towards your door and left your room without saying a word. You looked at the slightly opened door for a while, confused, not knowing what that was about.

You sighed, "at least close the door when you leave." You turned your gaze back at the books in front of you and started to study. Not bothering to get up and close the door yourself, you aimed your hand towards the door and used your Quirk, making it close itself. You continue to study for the next 30 minutes or so until the door opens again.

Before you could turn your head towards the door, a tray was placed in front of you. You heard the door close which makes you turn your head towards the figure. "What are you doi-" he cuts you off by placing his bag down by your bed before settling in beside it. "I'm going to study here just like last year and monitor you while I'm at it just in case you do something again."

Your lips parted and was about to argue back until he opened one of his textbooks and looked down at it, "I made you some food too so eat it before it gets cold." You paused before turning your head at the bowl filled with fried rice. "Don't worry too much about it, I made those using the leftovers from breakfast and dinner." He replied.

Taking the chopsticks from the side, you started to dig in. "This is really good." You said with your eyes wide. "If it's not enough I can make more since there's still ingredients left. Just say the words." You finished in no time and put the bowl down along with the chopsticks.

Just when you were about to stand up and take the tray downstairs, he takes it from your hands, "don't worry about it I'll do it." He says without a problem and walked towards the door. "Shinsou-" before you could finish he already walked out of your room. You continued to stand there without saying a thing, getting lost in your thoughts.

_"He's been acting weird for a while now... yeah, he's caring but these days it seems like something is wrong. Every time I skip a meal he'd start to lecture me and would either buy me something or make me something. He also has this look on his face that's been bothering me.. not only that but it seems like he hasn't been in the best mood or maybe I'm just overthinking again."_

You snapped out of your thoughts when you heard the door close, making you look up and meet dark purple eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked you which makes you cough, looking away from him. "I should be asking you that, you idiot." You mumbled but he heard it loud and clear. He lifts a brow at you. 

You've never felt this way about Shinsou before. The feeling of him looking down at you with that expression made you feel 10x smaller than him. 

"Toshi," you continue to avoid his gaze as you tried your best to hide your face from him. "Did I.. do something wrong to upset you?" He sighed, "what are you talking about?" You gulped, trying to be composed. "You've just been different these past few days and whenever I'm with you it feels like your mood goes down.."

"(Y/N)-"

"Have you... gotten tired of me already?" You finally lock eyes with him which makes his eyes wide. "(Y/N) you're-" you felt something wet land on your feet which startles you. You wiped your wet cheek with your fingers, trying to hide your face once again, "crap sorry I don't know what has gotten into me." You forced out a laugh while he gives you a worried look.

"What.. made you think that way?" He manages to let out. Sniffling lightly, you took a deep breath, "I-I don't know.. it just seems like you're getting tired of me.. like I'm nothing but a mess you're forced to cleanup.." 

"Listen, I-I know how damaged I am already so you don't have t-" he pulls you into his arms as he hugged you tightly, "don't call yourself that." He cuts you off.

Slowly, he lets you go and places his hands on your shoulders, "who said anything about me being forced to look after you?" You looked down, "it just seemed like every time I approached you, you just look the other way or your mood goes down."

"I thought you were being distant and so I just left you be.. but whenever I did do that and I do something like skip a meal, you'd start talking to me and so I thought.."

"I was just worried about you." You felt his grip on your shoulders tighten a bit, "especially after what happened last year.." he suddenly lets out a laugh, "don't tell me this is our first misunderstanding and it's about _this._ " He smiled lightly, brushing his thumb against your wet cheek. 

"You scared me, you idiot.." he heaved a breath and fails to hide his smile, "this must mean you're exhausted if you think me caring for you is me distancing myself from you." 

"It's not funny! I'm... genuinely scared to lose you or.. have you hate me." His smile drops when he noticed your eyes getting teary once again. "Why would I ever hate you?" You shrugged your shoulders, "..many reasons, I guess.."

"I'm not going anywhere, alright? And you're the last person in this world I would hate." You looked up at him, "do you.. mean that?" He lets out a chuckle, "of course I do. I would never lie to you." His voice softens which makes you at ease. Smiling lightly, your body collapses and he quickly catches you, "(Y/N)-"

His wave of worry slowly disappeared once he heard you snoring peacefully. He couldn't help but smile, "idiot." He carries you to your bed and tucks you in. 

"You're a handful you know that, right?" He says to you while you turn to your side, sleeping deeply. Shinsou slowly sits down beside you on your bed and releases a breath. "What am I going to do with you." He said before turning his attention to you. Gently, he brushes strands of your hair away from your face and admires you for a while.

"You're.."


	28. Chapter 28

You drop your pen before leaning your head back on your bed, "I'm exhausted." You lift your head back up and looked at Shinsou who was writing down formulas on a piece of paper. "You didn't have to help out, y'know." You said to him as you wrapped your arms around your folded legs to your chest.

He doesn't bother to look up at you since he was busy writing, "you were having trouble with this lesson so I might as well teach you since it's a way for me to study as well." He finishes writing and pushes the piece of paper towards you making you sit up straight. 

"Look at the problem and tell me what formula you'll be using." You pick a pen up and start analyzing the word problem. This wasn't the first time Shinsou has ever tutored you but you never fail to get nervous around him. There was something about him waiting and observing you while you attempt to solve a problem that terrified you.

Laughing nervously, "can you.. maybe not look at me?" He lifted his eyebrows in question but doesn't say a thing, instead he opened his notebook and started studying something else. "If you have questions don't be afraid to ask." You nodded your head and start paying attention to the paper once again.

Biting the tip of your pen without noticing, you start to analyze everything and before you knew it, you were writing something down. You finally finish and start reviewing your solution and answer. "Are you finished?" He asks you which startles you. Nodding your head weakly and having not a single ounce of confidence, you slowly slide him the paper and wait for him anxiously.

Shinsou picks the paper up and looks at it while you were trying to distract yourself, biting your inner cheek. "Ah, I see the problem." You look at him before he puts the paper down and pushes it towards you, "you accidentally switched time and velocity." His index points at the problem making you facepalm, "fuck I did it again."

He shook his head before taking his pen towards the paper and starts writing over your solution. "these were supposed to be switched, but everything else seems to be fine. You need to remember the formula or else if you don't then everything will be wrong." You hide your whole face with your hands and let out a loud groan, "I'm so sorry."

He sighs and couldn't help but smile lightly at you, "it's fine, you're actually improving a lot believe it or not. Let's try again, but this time I'll guide you." He takes starts flipping through his notes once again and starts writing another word problem on the same piece of paper.

The indigo haired scooches closer towards you and was now sitting right beside you. "Here, read the problem and tell me when you're done." After finishing, you nodded your head but kept your eyes peeled on the paper. Taking his pen, he starts underlining things, "these are your given, correct? Can you identity which is which and tell me what we're looking for?"

"We're looking for time?" He nodded his head with a smile, "there we go, write it down." You start writing it down and turn your head to look at him. "Since you're looking for the time, what do you suppose we need to do?" You start thinking about all the formulas and write it down which makes his smile bigger, "see you got this."

You finish solving and rechecking so you hand him the paper waiting for his approval. He looks through it and gives you a nod, "good job." You smile widely and let out a cheer, "thank god I finally got something right." He looks at the time on his phone and gets up, "are you hungry? I'm going to the kitchen, do you want anything?"

"Coffee, please-" he gives you a glare and without saying it, words a "no." You give him a pout, "but I always get coffee when studying for exams and it's going to be the last day tomorrow anyway. You didn't let me have any these past two nights." He grabs the doorknob and opens it, "fine, I'll make you some. I don't want to hear you complaining." You give him a wide smile, "thank you!"

Shinsou comes back with a mug in his hand and hands it to you before sitting down on the floor across you. You take it with a smile and took a sip right away despite it being piping hot. You let out a hiss and put the mug down on the table immediately before wiping your burnt lips with the sleeve of your shirt. 

He lets out a disappointed sigh, "you're too reckless." You start to smack your lips and noticed something was off. "What did you do to the coffee?" You ask him innocently and look at the coloration of the drink and noticed it was lighter than usual. "I put a little bit of sweetener since I know how much you hate bitterness." 

"B-But-" he rolled his eyes at you, "is it not good?" You shook your head, "it's not that- you know what, never mind. Thank you for making me this." You take the cup in your hands and start blowing on it. "How long did you plan on torturing your taste buds like that?" You let out a laugh, "it helps me stay up for a while and gives me more study time so... maybe until I graduate?"

You took another sip, "this is really good too, you did a good job." You give him a thumbs up with a smile. "But dairy makes me sleepy a lot easier which is why I make it the most bitter drink as possible." He folds his arms on his chest and heaves a breath, "study more and talk less, I don't want to see you sulking or depressed after the exam and you ended up answering things wrong, or didn't finish the exam, or forgot every formula."

"You're so mean." You put the mug down and clasp your hands together, "alrighty then, I'll show to you that I can do it." You pick your pen up and start answering more word problems on your own. Shinsou observes you for a while, letting out a soft chuckle before continuing his studies right after.

The both of you these past 4 nights have been studying in your room together for the exams. Sometimes you tutor him and sometimes, like right now, he tutors you. It's not usually like that though, sometimes you two just stay in your room to study together despite knowing the lessons without a problem.

* * *

A wave of relief came crashing down on everyone in your class once Aizawa left the classroom with your exam papers. "Exams are finally done." You heaved a breath as you leaned forward on your desk and rest your chin on it. "Did you finish answering?" Jirou asks you from the side which makes you turn your head to look at her. Nodding, "I finished in time but it was less difficult than I thought it would be."

She smiled lightly at you, "well considering you study nonstop, I'm sure exams aren't that hard for you." You let out a nervous laugh, "man if only you knew." You lean back on your seat and start stretching your arms in the air, letting out a breath before putting them back down. 

"Do you have plans after this?" Shinsou lifts his head up to look at you while you stood there with your hands behind your back, holding your school bag. He shook his head, "nope, why?" You give him a bright smile, "want to come with me?" 

Shinsou nodded his head before getting up from his seat, taking his bag with him. "Where are we heading?" He asks you as he follows you outside of the classroom, "you'll find out eventually. Just follow me, alright? I don't want to hear a single question from you." He playfully rolled his eyes at you and continues to follow.

"Did you ask permission from sir Aizawa that we're leaving campus?" You nodded, "of course! I talked to him this morning before the exams started." 

"Why so suddenly though? Are we heading over to your place?" You shook your head, "no, and what did I tell you about asking questions?" He heaves a breath, "now you're scaring me, is this because I didn't follow your coffee recipe last night?" You let out a hum, "maybe~ I don't know, you tell me." You give him a smug look.

Eventually you stopped walking and entered a convenience store. He looks at you with furrowed brows before following you inside shortly after. "Choose anything you'd like, consider it as a small thank you for helping me out these past few days." 

"Is that it? You're only getting me food after taking care of you and making sure you don't make any reckless choices?" You parted your lips but quickly closed them, suddenly getting anxious and regretting everything. _"Fuck he's right, he has done so many things for me and this is all I can do for him? That's pathetic-"_

Shinsou gently pats your head, "I was just kidding, don't look so sad." He says before walking right past you to the chips section. "Why don't we watch a movie or something." You let out a sigh, "typical of you to say." He eyes every single thing in the aisle with his hands inside his pockets, "I don't really feel like eating anything, hmm.." you noticed his eyes kept looking at this certain packaging but he doesn't say a word.

"What about ice cream then?" He nodded his head, "sure," you start walking but quickly halt, turning back to look at him before pointing at his chest, "you better make me pay for the ice cream this time." He lets out a chuckle and raises a brow, "alright, alright." 

Looking around, you eventually found something you wanted. "Found something you want?" You ask him and he nods his head, taking the melon bar. "Give it, I'm going to pay for these in the counter." He hands you the ice cream in his hand and follows behind you. "Is this really all you want? You don't want candy, chips, or anything? I owe you a lot after all."

Shaking his head, "nah I'm good." He waits for you to finish buying by the door. While he waits, he couldn't help but remember the last time you both came here. He deeply regrets it because if you two didn't go to the store that time, you both wouldn't have reunited with Kim. He lets out a sigh and was started when someone was handing him something.

"What's with the long face?" You ask him. He quickly shook his head and took the ice cream from your hand, leaving the store together. "So how was the physics exam? Did you finish on time?" You nodded your head confidently, "yup! I finished just in time luckily. I really do owe you a lot, if it weren't for your help I would've died."

"You're overexaggerating again, you were doing fine on your own." You take the ice cream away from your mouth, "I'm not! You really saved my ass, again." He hums before throwing away the green wrapper of his ice cream inside a trashcan, "yeah, but you helped me too. You helped me in Chemistry _and_ Literature." 

"Hmm.. I guess you're right. Still, you've been a big help to me not only in my studies, but also in my personal life. I'd like to say you helped me grow as a person." You give him a bright smile. "(Y/N).." he parted his lips until someone from afar was calling for you and Shinsou.

"You two went to buy ice cream without telling us?!" Mina shouts from afar. "I didn't know everyone else wanted too." You explained to her as they all started walking closer to the both of you. "We're planning on hanging out at an arcade nearby after we buy some snacks, are you guys down?" Kirishima asks. You turn to look at Shinsou who just shrugged his shoulders without a problem.

"Yeah, we'll come." Kaminari lets out a cheer before wrapping his arms around you and Shinsou's shoulders, "(Y/N) and Shinsou have joined the party!" 

"You idiot, did you forget about our bet already? Guess you're paying for everything." Kirishima lets out and starts running towards the same convenience store you and Shinsou just came from. Kaminari lets go of the two of you and starts running after the red head, "NO FAIR YOU CHEATED."

You watched them all run making you laugh. "You two coming? Don't want to lose sight of those three." You nodded your head, "yeah we'll be there." You watched some of your classmates continue walking before turning to Shinsou, "shall we follow them?" He nods and you both start walking.

Not only after you both have already finished your ice creams. "Oh, before I forget-" you opened your bag and took something out which makes his eyes widen. 

"I saw you looking at this since a while ago and so I got it for you." You hand him the green tube with a koala design. He takes it from you hesitantly and looks at it, "you didn't have to-" you snickered, "don't worry too much about it, if someone asks tell them that's mine and I just gave it to you. I don't want to ruin your stoic and cool reputation after all." You smirked at him which makes him roll his eyes at you.

"Very funny. I just wanted to try these." You tilt your head, "well, try them then. Tell me if you like them or not." He nods his head at you and starts opening the packaging. He takes one out and puts it inside his mouth.

"Well? What do you think of it?" He chews for a while as you wait for him to finish. "Hmm.." he looks at the sky and starts thinking to himself.

"Would be better if it was a cat design, not going to lie." You playfully roll your eyes at him and gently smack his shoulder, "you're such a fucking dork." He laughs, "it's actually quite good, I like it a lot." 

"They have a pink one and it's a strawberry filling instead of chocolate." 

"I'm gonna have to buy that and try it next time. Want to accompany me?" You looked at him with a raised brow, "not that I don't mind accompanying you, but why do you need me to come?" A smirk was plastered on his lips, "I don't want my cool reputation to get ruined, remember?" You roll your eyes at him, "you're so annoying."

Shinsou lets out a laugh before you finally met up with the others.


	29. His Quirk

You took the helmet off from your head and took deep breaths, "thank god it's over." Everyone in the female locker room heaved the same tired breath. "It has been a while since I went against one of our classmates." Hagakure whined. Momo gently laughs, "I get how you feel."

You dropped your tired ass on the vacant bench, trying to catch your breath. Mina notices and looks over at you, "you're not going to pass out due to exhaustion are you?" You shook your head at her, "I'm fine, don't worry about it. It's just that my battle against Kirishima was the last match." Jirou starts to change back into the school uniform, "now that I think about it (Y/N) has been improving a lot. Guess Miss Midnight isn't going easy on you."

Chuckling, you nodded your head, "as tiring her missions and orders were, she's one of the main reasons as to why I don't pass out that easily anymore." You start to take your suit off while seated. Mina hums and laughs, "I remember last year when you'd always pass out every now and then. If it weren't for Midoriya, you'd definetely be #1 in most visits to Recover Girl's office." Everyone laughs it off including you.

"Shinsou is actually pretty good." Asui comments on. Everyone nods their heads in unison, "I can't help but hear him talk badly about his skills but he's actually just as skilled as we are." Momo adds. Mina gasped loudly, "his battle with Kaminari was really cool!" She said with the widest smile on her face, she was practically glowing. Jirou sighs from the corner, "it would've been much cooler and interesting if that idiot didn't fall for the obvious trap." 

You finish buttoning up your top and start patting down your skirt, making sure there weren't any wrinkles. Mina tilts her head at your direction with squinted eyes, "there she goes again." You didn't need to see Mina to know who she was talking about. You sat down and start pulling your socks up, "what do you want this time?" 

She takes the empty spot beside you and swings her bare feet back and forth, "we're talking about Shinsou and you haven't said a word." You finish with your socks and get up, wiggling your feet inside your school shoes, "maybe because I don't have anything to say." Momo sighs, "Mina just leave (Y/N) and her relationship with Shinsou alone." She says to defend you but there was something about her tone that didn't sit well with you.

Asui looks your way, "(Y/N) have you ever been brainwashed by Shinsou?" Everyone looks at her with wide eyes, "Tsuyu! You can't just say that-" she looks back at them with a confused look on her face, "I didn't mean any harm. I just want to know if she has ever tried getting brainwashed by him." They didn't say anything more but turned their gaze to you.

Humming, you looked at the ceiling to think before shaking your head, "nope, I've never been. Now I'm curious though."

You grabbed your briefcase that had your hero suit and closed up your locker, "maybe I'll ask him to." Before your friends could stop you. you had already walked out of the locker room. While heading back to your classroom, you couldn't help but think to yourself. You weren't afraid of the idea, you were genuinely curious on how it felt to be brainwashed. Do you not remember anything after? Is it like sleeping? How does it feel? Is it like sleepwalking? The questions continue to linger in your head until it all stopped when you felt a gentle pull on your hand.

You snapped out of your thoughts and noticed that you were inches away from bumping into a concrete wall. A sigh that came from behind you startles you, making you turn around to face whoever had a hold of your hand. "Can you not get lost in your thoughts while walking?" He scolds you. You laugh sheepishly, rubbing the back of your head as he lets go of you.

"Sorry and thanks for that." Shinsou shook his head lightly, "it's fine, don't worry about it. Just be more careful or else it might be you falling down a flight of stairs next." The two of you start walking side by side, talking about the matches that happened. "You really didn't hold back on Kaminari." You teased him and laughed. Sighing, "I didn't even go all out. I had so much planned but he had already fallen for the first trap before I could even make a move." 

You laugh at his remarks and he couldn't help but smile at your reaction. "Well, you didn't hold back on Kirishima either." You scoffed, "please, he knew what he had coming when he started charging at me. Besides, I was making use of the rocks. Someone has to use them." Shinsou lets out a laugh, "touche." He responds with.

He opens the door to your classroom for you and just when you were about to enter you stopped your tracks and looked at him, making him raise his brows. "Can I head over to your room after school later? If you don't mind, of course." Since you two had gotten closer and have already spent time at each others' rooms more than a handful of times, he doesn't ask for the reason and just nods, "go ahead, I don't mind."

Questions stopped being asked when the visits started happening more. Sometimes you would even stay in his room for an entire day just because you felt lonely in your room and wanted company. Though you'd stay in his room, there had been times where you two wouldn't even exchange words to each other, busy with your own things. That wasn't really a thing that bothered you two. You both genuinely enjoyed the company.

It wasn't just you though, Shinsou was just as guilty. It's actually mostly your room. He'd come over, spend half or maybe his whole entire in your room, and would leave when it's bedtime. 

* * *

You were laid down on Shinsou's bed, facing the ceiling meanwhile he was sat on the floor with his back resting against the bed, phone in his hand while he scrolls through his social media feed. "Y'know I've been thinking." You turned to your side so you were now facing him. He turns his device off and turned his head to look at you with raised brows.

"It's about your Quirk." You noticed how his expression changed slightly when you mentioned it, "what about my Quirk?" He asked. You sat up from his bed and looked down at him, "you've never used it on me yet, have you?" Shinsou shook his head, "nope. You don't have to be afraid, I don't ever plan on using it on you unless it's school and practice related, but either way I don't think I'll use it." 

"I wasn't really worried about that." He furrowed his brows and the concern in his eyes increased. "I actually want you to use it on m-" he shook his head without hesitation, "not happening." You pouted, "but I'm curious on how it works and how it feels like to be brainwashed." 

Shinsou heaves a breath, "(Y/N), that's not happening. Even I don't know what happens to my targets when I brainwash them. It might seriously hurt you and I don't want to risk that." You sighed, "but if you brainwash me, I'll tell you what happens. I trust you and I know you won't hurt me." He shook his head before folding his arms on his chest, looking away from you. "You may trust me but I don't necessarily trust myself." 

You looked at him and noticed how bothered he was looking more and more. You also could've sworn he was shaking in anger, or even.. fear. Placing your hand on his shoulders and gently squeezing them for reassurance, "fine, I won't touch that subject any further. I'm sorry for bringing it up." He doesn't respond and just nodded his head lightly, still avoiding your gaze.

You slowly let go of him and was about to lie back down until he started to speak. "There's reasons as to why I don't want to use it on you." His voice was soft but also firm at the same time. Swallowing, you hugged your knees close to your chest, "you don't have to tell me if I made it sound like that." He quickly shook his head and turned his head around to look at you, "it's fine, I planned on telling you for a while now anyway."

He gets up from the floor and sat down on the vacant spot beside you on his bed. You patiently waited for him to start, resting your chin on top of your knees as you pulled them closer to you. Shinsou takes a deep breath, shutting his eyes. Releasing, he opens them, "it was the day I discovered my Quirk."

"Some kids were picking on one of my classmates and I reluctantly decided to join. Not in the bullying, of course." He inhales, having a bit of difficulty to continue but does so anyway. "The moment I spoke out they all turned to me. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground being beat up by all of them."

You felt a stinging feeling lingering inside of your chest and tried to say comforting words to your friend, but nothing seemed to come out of your lips. "Long story short.. I might've said some harsh things. One in particular stood out the most." You looked at him with saddened eyes when he paused, trying to compose himself. "Toshi if you feel like stopping-"

"I told him he was better off dead."

Your eyes widened and before your jaw could drop you managed to stop it. "His friends continued but.. he stopped. They asked him why he had stopped but he was silent. Not only that but his eyes had turned completely white. Everyone took a step back from him but they laughed it off thinking he was joking around to fuck with everyone."

Pinching the bridge of his noise as he hissed, "luckily that threat of mine was only a trigger and not a command. Nonetheless, it continued on for a while until they realized something had happened to him. They ran to the nearest teacher and blamed it on me, saying that I had ruined or even killed him."

A wave of relief washed over you, thankful that nothing terrible happened. "Luckily before the teacher came to where I was with him, he managed to snap out of it. The moment they arrived, they started explaining to the teacher what happened and just to be sure it doesn't happen again, I was sent home and went straight to a doctor regarding my Quirk."

"Sure nothing happened but.. I know it may seem fucked up of me to think this way, but I always imagine how things would be if he-" you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. He froze on the spot and looked at you with wide eyes. You buried your face into his shoulder and bit your quivering lip, "don't say that, Toshi.." you said in the softest voice.

He doesn't respond. He wanted to, but it was as if there was something stopping him from moving his lips. The moment he felt something wet he started to tense up, swallowing harshly. "You're not like that... you were just defending yourself.." you sniffled, trying to keep your composure but failed miserably. Slowly, he gently wraps his arms around your waist, embracing you back.

Shinsou was patting and rubbing your back gently and it made you feel warm. Looking up to rest your chin on his shoulder, you took a deep breath in hopes for your voice to be a little more stable, "the important thing is no one got hurt. So don't blame yourself or think of anything negative.. you're not a bad person, Shinsou Hitoshi."

He chokes right when you said his full name, his cheeks flushed with a deep shade of red. You tighten your hold on him, hugging him even closer than before. Without realizing, tears were forming in the corner of his eyes. You pull away from him and noticed the second you saw his dark amethyst eyes. In a panicked voice, "T-Toshi- oh no did I overdo it-"

Your friend lets out a gentle laugh, a small smile on his lips but you can tell it wasn't fake. It was a genuine one. Brushing his index finger on the bottom of his eye lightly, he looks at you and shook his head, "thank you." Before you could ask he reaches for your hand that was resting on your lap and held it, "..for everything. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"To-"

The door opens which causes you to flinch, turning your head at the door immediately. You locked eyes with a familiar pair of golden glowing orbs.

Mina looks at you before turning her gaze to Shinsou, her eyes slowly going down to his hand that was holding yours. You didn't notice how close you and Shinsou were until she coughs, her cheeks slowly flushing, "um.. dinner is ready." She quickly closed the door and you could've sworn she sent you a wink before leaving the room. You bury your face in your hands and fought off a smile. Shinsou notices and smiles back.

Releasing air from your nostrils, you drop both of your hands down and give him a wide smile, "you okay now?" He nods lightly, "didn't expect you to be more emotional about my past more than me." You gently landed a playful punch on his shoulder, making him laugh. "Thanks for caring though. It really means a lot."

You scoffed, getting up from the bed and stretched your arms in the air with a yawn, "you don't need to thank me for anything. We're friends, aren't we?" You said the last bit quietly, feeling embarrassed but he still heard it. He smiles, _"you really are something."_ He thought. 

"And you're too hard on yourself. Way too hard. You're just as good and special as everyone else. I know you think lowly of yourself, and I feel the same way about myself too, but maybe instead of listening to yourself..." you paused and shook the hesitation away with a smile, "you should listen to those around you. Especially your new friends."

Shinsou quirks a brow and you just heaved a breath, walking over to him and cupped both sides of his face, "believe it or not but everyone in this dorm is now a new friend of yours." He lifts a brow at you. You cough and your hands start moving on their own, they were now playing with his cheeks, "okay maybe not everyone. But there are people here that genuinely care about you and I'm sure you feel the same way about them."

He sighs and takes both of your hands off from his cheeks and was now holding onto them. You were startled and just realized what you had been doing. "(Y/N)," he says calmly but for some reason you were intimidated. "Yeah?" You raised both of your brows at him, waiting for him to continue. 

His dark amethyst eyes were looking up at you and they were still the most beautiful pair you had ever seen. His lips part but quickly closed them. With furrowed brows you gave him a confused look before he got up on his feet and let go of your hands, "dinner is ready, we don't want them to worry or get any ideas." You remembered Mina accidentally walking in on you both which makes you quickly agree with him, leaving his room to head downstairs.

Shinsou closes the door behind him and coincidentally bumped into Todoroki on his way down. They both met eyes and just gave each other subtle nods in greeting. Right when Shinsou was going to walk down the steps he was caught off guard by his classmate's voice. "Your technique from this morning. Your binding cloth." He turns around to look at Todoroki with raised brows, "what about it?"

"It was.." he stopped for a second, "impressive." Shinsou chuckles lightly, "thanks but I wasn't trying to impress anyone. Hopefully you weren't looking down on me or anything." Todoroki shook his head, "it wasn't like that. I just always wanted to be paired up with you in battles ever since that Class A vs Class B battle from last year." He furrowed his dark purple brows.

"Well, whatever your reason is, I won't lose to your dual Quirk." The two gave each other grins before heading to the dining hall together.


	30. Project

Your pointer finger was drawing invisible circles on your notebook, not realizing that you were making your pen float and having it spin around slowly. Modern Art History had to be one of your favorite subjects. Well, it wasn't the most entertaining, but it was definetely one of the easiest classes for you. The noises in the background were vague, your ears canceling out everything other than your thoughts. 

A gentle poke on your shoulder makes you flinch, causing the pen that was floating to drop on your desk, making a loud sound before it rolled off to the ground. The room had silenced out completely and all heads turned to look at your direction. You shut your eyes closed, wincing before bowing your head to apologize, bending over to retrieve the fallen pen.

Your face was flushed and you felt yourself sinking lower and lower on your seat, burying your face in your hands as you took a deep breath. The class resumes but you can still feel some glances here and there, especially from Miss Midnight who wasn't having it. "You okay?" Jirou whispered, her eyes glued to the board. You nodded your head, "yeah, I just lost it for a second."

Miss Midnight puts the chalk down on the chalk ledge, stepping front and looked at her students. Crossing her arms on her chest, "for your upcoming project, I have decided that everyone will be working in pairs." The moment the word _pair_ escaped her lips, a few people in the room started looking around and making eye contact with their friends. You felt someone looking at you from the distance and you knew right away who it was.

Turning your head to the side you met eyes with Mina who was smiling brightly at you. "You don't have to worry about partnering up, I took the liberty of choosing all of your partners for you!" Miss Midnight announced with a grin. A few groans escaped from your classmates' mouths and right away you hear a quick snapping sound, seeing that she had her whip in her hand. 

"Did I just hear complaints?" She growled, causing everyone to yelp. Chuckling, she puts the whip down on the desk and takes out a clipboard, looking through it. You always struggled with projects that require more than one person especially when it's chosen randomly. You've always been unlucky in groups, always ending up with people who were useless and never helped out.

Taking a deep breath, you weren't that worried about it. People in U.A. have been mostly helpful and responsible, especially in projects so you weren't that freaked out. She clears her throat and looks up from the list. "Yaoyorozu and Hagakure." She starts off and the two girls gave each other smiles. "Sero and Ojiro." She continues to name the pairs and eventually your name was called. 

"(L/N) and Tokoyami." You looked to the front row and saw him looking back at you. You send each other a nod before looking away. Miss Midnight then finishes with the pairs and starts explaining the project and how she will be grading everyone based on their report. "I want you all to present your works to me by Thursday, you may meet up with your pairs, class dismissed." Everyone got up from their seats and made their way to their partners.

Slowly, you stood up and took your notebook with you before walking to where Tokoyami was. Taking the vacant seat beside him, you lift it up and placed it across him. You sat down and opened your notes.

You and Tokoyami aren't that close, but you two were friends. "Should we get to it?" You ask him, flipping through your notebook. He nods and does the same, "I'm assuming you already have something in mind." Your hands stopped at a page and turned it around so he could the contents, "what about this one? It's not the easiest, but it's also not the hardest to report about." 

He takes the notebook from you, eyes going side to side as he examined your notes. Nodding his head, "sounds good." He hands you back your notebook and you took it from him. "I don't know, maybe you have a suggestion? Just want this to be a mutual thing."

"Don't worry about it, I was going to suggest XXXX but it seemed too easy and I'm sure someone already plans to report that. Let's stick to your idea instead." He was still as awkward and quiet as ever, but you appreciate his effort. "Well, I don't have my laptop with me right now, so why don't we do this after school later?" He nods, "sure."

You got up from the seat and put it back to where it belonged, "do you want to meet up at your room or mine? I'm fine with either." He looks at you with shocked eyes, looking away and you could've sworn you saw a tint of pink on the side of his cheek. He coughs, "I think it's best to meet up in your room. My room isn't quite.." he stopped and right away you got his message.

You remembered the first time everyone moved in the Heights Alliance. Remembering Tokoyami's dark and edgy room filled with purple glowing candles and there was even a sword at the corner of his room. It was hard to believe that he even had lights in there. "Right, right. Alrighty then," you waved him goodbye and he does the same. 

Making your way back to your desk you had bumped into Shinsou who was also heading back to his desk. "So who's your partner?" You ask him, putting your notebook down on your desk which was beside you. He sighs, judging from the look on his face it wasn't good. He points to the angered blond at the back who was arguing with the red head. Your lips parted before hissing, "yikes.."

He nods, shoving his hands inside his pockets, "what about you? I'm sure yours is better than mine based on how giddy you look." Your eyes widened with furrowed brows, "giddy?" Shinsou quirked a brow at you and you just heaved a breath, "I'm with Tokoyami." He looks at you with a hint of confusion. Rolling your eyes at him, "birdman." And just like that his lips parted, making an enlongated _"oh"_ sound.

"You've been in the hero course for.." you counted mentally, "4 months now and you still don't know who your own classmates are?" He sighs and rubbed the back of his neck which made you feel guilty. You've known about that habit of his. He usually does it when he's feeling nervous or anxious. "I never really talked to him before. He's pretty quiet too." 

You hummed, "I'm sure you two would be great friends. You two have something in common after all." Shinsou gives you a look, "and that is?" You opened your lips but quickly stopped, realizing how stupid it sounded. He noticed your hesitation, "well don't stop now. Tell me." Laughing nervously, you shook your head with a smile, "n-never mind.. it doesn't matter."

"(Y/N)."

"Well, maybe it's because you two umm.. have this certain _edge_?" He doesn't react which makes you regret saying anything. "Never mind that, it's already lunchtime." 

"Are you eating?" He asks and you shook your head lightly, "I need to do some research about that project. If I don't do it now I might never do it." He looks at you and nods, "what about you?" He shrugged, "have no idea as well. Maybe I should tag along with you-" you glare at him, "Toshi you shouldn't skip meals." He tilts his head and raised a brow.

"Okay, but I don't do it as much as you do." You say but he wasn't too convinced. Heaving a breath, you took out a lunchbox from your bag and hand it to him, "if you're going to eat lunch at least eat something that's not a sandwich." You take your notebook and was about to walk past him but he stopped you. 

"I can't just take your lunch." He says with your wrist in his hand. You couldn't help but chuckle at his worried tone, "you're not taking it from me. I'm simply giving it to you." You give him a friendly smile before ruffling his already messy indigo locks, "stop being cute, will you." You say before finally walking out of the classroom and made your way to the library.

Shinsou chokes and tries to call for you but you had already left. He simply sighs, running a hand through his hair, trying to hide the pink tints on his cheeks.

You made your way to the library and went to the computer area, doing your research there. You had sat there for around 10 minutes now, doing your work until you saw a familiar figure in your peripheral vision. Looking to the side you saw Tokoyami. You wave your hand lightly at him enough to get his attention. He walks over towards you and takes the vacant seat right next to you.

"What are you doing here?" You ask him but stopped when you realized how stupid you sounded. It's a library anyone can use. 

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Shinsou back in the classroom. I felt bad that you were spending your lunchbreak doing research so I decided to help out too. It wouldn't be fair to make you do most of the work." A smile crept on your lips as you chuckled, "thanks, I appreciate it." You both decided that it was best for Tokoyami do handle the computer while you take down notes.

"I didn't think you were _this_ responsible." He comments on. You look up from your notes to meet his eyes and he quickly turns the other way, "I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry." You shook your head, "no, no, it's fine. I got what you meant." You stroked your chin lightly, humming, "I guess so? Don't be fooled though, I can be very lazy. I prefer doing things sooner than later. It wasn't easy, but after years of forcing myself I got used to it." 

He nods his head slowly and starts clicking on other sites. "What about you, Tokoyami? How do you usually do your projects?" You asked. "It depends on my mood, but usually I do it a bit later than usual. Not too late though." You look at the screen and start writing more information down. "Do you remember that battle we did a year ago? Where we fought against each other inside that building."

Tokoyami chuckles, "do you mean the time you flew me across the city and trapped my team using Sero's tape?" You couldn't help but laugh, "I kinda want a rematch, what do you think?" He leans back and smirks, "don't get too cocky." 

The bell rings not shortly after and everyone inside the library stood up, leaving either by themselves or in groups. "Are you done?" He asks. You finished writing the last sentence down and closed your notebook, putting the pencil inside of your pocket as you stood up, "yeah, let's go."

You both left the library walking side by side, talking about the report and the distribution of tasks. "I'll do the presentation so you don't have to worry about it. Just send me the information you get and we'll discuss it later." He nods, "I'll do my best." The two of you part ways the moment you both entered the classroom. You took your seat and your lunchbox was on your desk. You turn your head to Shinsou who was looking down on his notes.

Taking the lunchbox, you figured he must've eaten it all due to it being lighter than earlier. You put it back inside your bag and right on time a teacher walks in and greets and class.

* * *

You were tidying your room up though it was already pretty neat to begin with, checking if you had everything prepped. Your laptop was on your desk with the blank presentation screen, refreshments were ready, and now it was waiting time. You sat down on the floor and decided to get started while waiting for Tokoyami. Looking back and forth from your notes (that you took during lunch in the library), and typing it down on your keyboard, you were so focused you didn't even notice someone walking in.

A figure dropped themselves on your bed and let out a sigh which made you notice their presence. Turning your head to look at them, you quickly knew who it was right away from the head full of fluffy indigo locks. His eyes were focused on the screen of his phone but put the device down when he saw you looking at him from his peripheral vision. He raised his brows at you as if you had something to say to him.

"Toshi, is there something you need?" You asked him. He gives you a weird look, "what do you mean? Aren't we watching a movie tonight?" Your eyes slightly widen, you check the date on your laptop and gasped when you realized what day it was. Putting your head down with a sigh, you shut your eyes as you cussed to yourself silently, "I'm sorry I completely forgot." He shrugs it off, "so what are we watching this time? It's your turn to pick."

You parted your lips but before you could speak up there was a knock on the door making Shinsou avert his eyes from you, dark purple eyes eyeing the door now. "Come in," you said which makes the door open. Tokoyami enters, no longer wearing his school uniform and was wearing his comfort casual wear. There was a certain silence in the room that felt heavy for no reason.

Clearing your throat as your eyes moved from Shinsou to Tokoyami. "I apologize, were you two in the middle of something?" You quickly shook your head, shutting down his question almost immediately. "Shinsou was just here to ask a question regarding the project." You turn your gaze to your stoic friend and nodded your head at him with raised brows, hoping he would get the message.

He stood up from your bed and gives Tokoyami a subtle nod in greeting, "I'll get going now." He says and closes the door behind him, leaving you and Tokoyami alone. He takes the spot across from you, putting his books and notebooks on the table. "If you don't mind I already started a little bit on the presentation." He shook his head, "not at all."

You two start making the project together, he was telling you information while you typed it all down in your laptop. It was a lot more productive than you expected it to be. You two have been making it for about 2 hours now, you lower the screen of your laptop down but it wasn't closed completely. You let out a breath as you leaned your back against your bed, "we did a lot today."

He nods in agreement, "it was a good idea to do some research in school during lunch today." You laughed gently, "you helped too, y'know. Don't give me all the credit." You say before bringing the glass of water to your lips, taking a long sip. "How many more do we need?" He asks. Putting the now empty glass down, you push your screen open and slide down the presentation, "we need around 15 more. You did a lot, I can handle all of this."

"It wouldn't be fair if you did. You're already doing the presentation by yourself, at least let me do the last 15 while you start designing and gathering photos." This was the first time you're hearing these words coming out from someone else's mouth so you were in deep shock. From years of suffering with group projects that ended up being individual works, it felt like you were dreaming or even hallucinating. You slowly shook your head, "I don't want to waste your time or anything-"

"You can trust me. The last thing I want is you doing more work than me." Your sudden outburst of laugh makes him give you a worried expression, "d-did I say something funny?" He asks innocently with the most concerned eyes, it almost made your heart feel warm at how innocent he was being. You shook your head, "it's nothing, don't worry about it. I'm just so used to being paired or grouped with people that never help to the point I've gotten used to doing all the work by myself."

He doesn't respond which makes you panic, "oh crap- I didn't mean for it to sound that way! You're very helpful, Tokoyami, probably the most helpful person I've ever met." You had a nervous smile on your lips as you laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of your head. "You don't have to worry about it. I got what you meant the first time it's just that it's sad that you've been taken advantage of."

Your expression softens as he takes a sip of his drink from a straw. "I hope you never get to experience that ever again." You couldn't help but smile widely, gently landing a playful punch on his forearm while giggling, "you're too nice! Tell you what, why don't you summon Dark Shadow out so he can help us out." You joked but he ended up summoning the dark figure, startling you.

The shadow figure comes closer to your face and sniffs you, scanning your body before heading over to his master. "He's cuter up close." Tokoyami sighs, "don't be fooled. She could be as stubborn and mischievous more than you think." Your body freezes, looking at him with wide eyes, " _she?_ " Tokoyami nodded his head, "Dark Shadow is a female." You blinked a few times before turning your gaze to her.

She was hiding behind Tokoyami, head peaking from his shoulder. You start making your way towards her slowly, trying not to scare her. You've never really had a conversation with the figure or even saw her this up close that doesn't involve battle. "Can I..?" You ask slowly, hand reaching to the top of her head. Tokoyami doesn't stop you and just watches everything unfold over his shoulder.

Dark Shadow sniffs on your head, being cautious. You stop moving and let her do her thing. Not shortly after, she starts to lean closer to your hand which was a good sign that she somewhat trusted you. Putting your hand on the top of her head as you pet her gently, your smile widening. You could've sworn she was letting our purrs, but that could just be your imagination.

"Unfortunately she can't really help us. She'll be glad to stay though." She nuzzles closer to your hand, "she can stay here as long as she can!" You stopped and took your seat down, "are you not hungry? I only prepared fruit after all." He shook his head, "I'm fine, it'll be dinnertime soon enou-"

The door swings open, "supper is ready!" Kirishima announces with his sharp toothed smile like usual. His body froze when he noticed you were with someone alone in your room that wasn't your usual partner. "This pairing was the last thing I had in mind." He says but when he finally realized what was happening he just parted his lips and nodded. "You two are starting already?" He asked and you nod in response. "We didn't want to waste any time. Who are you paired with?" 

He laughs nervously, "I'm partners with Koda. I'm sure he means well but he isn't necessarily the social type." You giggled and shrugged your shoulders, "opposites attract." Your remark manages to make the red head laugh as well, "you're right." He says before finally closing the door.

"You think we can finish this in one night?" He asked while you were getting up from the ground. You look at the clock and hummed to think, "it's possible, but I don't want you to spend your whole night doing work when you should be resting. We'll continue it tomorrow, if that's okay with you." He nodded his head without hesitation, "sure,"

* * *

You sat down on the vacant seat beside Mina, putting your tray filled with food down. "I haven't seen you leave your room at all, I was worried." Uraraka says as she takes a sip from her cup. "Have you guys forgotten who (Y/N) is? She's probably doing that project already." You glare at her from the side, "and I'm guessing you haven't yet?" Mina chokes on the food in her mouth, coughing. 

"We'll do it tomorrow! We both agreed to." Jirou puts her chopsticks down, "aren't you partners with Kaminari?" You glare at her even more, "you better start tomorrow." Mina says nothing and just continues to eat with her signature bright and toothy smile.

Momo puts her spoon down, "who are you partners with, (Y/N)?" She asked. "Oh, I'm partners with Tokoyami." They glanced at each other with concerned looks on their faces making you slightly worried. "Is he... not helping you?" Your eyes widened as you quickly shook your head, "of course not! He's been very helpful. More helpful than a certain someone when it comes to paired works." You take a sip from your glass while taking small glances at Mina who pretty much got your message. 

"You guys don't have to worry. He has been the most helpful person I've ever met so far." You said with a smile before taking a piece of your dinner with your chopsticks and bringing it to your mouth. "Hagakure and I already started with our work and are almost done." Momo said but you can tell how tired and exhausted the two of them were. "How can you two be so responsible?" Mina sighs.

Gently smacking the back part of her head, "I think the question should be how can you be so _irresponsible._ " She stuck her tongue out at you while you rolled your eyes playfully. The teasing moved to Uraraka who your friends later found out was paired with Midoriya. "You just keep winning, Uraraka!" Mina ruffles her head lightly which makes her face redden even more. "It's nothing like that!"

"But you have feelings for Izuku, correct?" Tsuyu comments which makes her freeze, no words were able to leave her lips. The laughter in the table took a quick pause when someone approached. "I'll be heading back to your room to continue, if you don't mind." Tokoyami says. You look at him and nodded, "sure, I'll be up soon." He nods and makes his way towards the stairs. 

"You're letting.. a boy enter your room without you? Isn't that a bit risky?" Jirou asks, her finger twirling around one of her earphone jacks. You hummed and shook your head, "I don't really think they'll do anything wrong. I don't have anything to hide anyway." They looked at each other concerningly while you take a sip from your glass. "It's not that I trust every man, don't worry too much about it. I know he won't do anything. If I had my doubts, I would've went up with him." You put the glass down and stood up, taking the tray with you. "I need to get going now. I don't want him doing all the work by himself."

You wave them goodbye and made your way to the sink. Just when you were about to wash your tray it was still occupied. You put the tray down and stood beside the figure, "hey," you startle your friend as he releases a breath, "don't sneak up on me like that." You slightly glare at him, "I'm not that short." He chuckles and shook his head at your remark, "believe what you want." 

He notices your tray and holds his hand out. You shook your head and start washing it yourself, "you don't have to worry." He snickered, "can never win against you after all." He moves slightly to give you more space and access to the sink. "Have you started with your project?" You ask him, taking the extra sponge. He sighs, "I planned to but my partner isn't quite siding with me."

"He makes it sound like I don't like him either. God he's so annoying." You couldn't help but laugh, "don't worry too much about him. He might seem like an ass, but.. he has a good heart, he just doesn't know how to express his emotions other than anger. You'll get used to his outbursts." He nods slowly, "are you two close?" You turn your head to look at him and shook it, laughing shortly after, "you don't have to be close to Bakugou to understand him."

"I've been assigned to be in the same group as him last year and he's more than just talk. He's actually quite responsible, give him another shot." You give Shinsou a small smile. It drops when you noticed something on the side of his cheek. Washing off the soap residue from your hand, you brought it close to his cheek and wiped it off, startling him with your cold touch.

"Oh, you had some soap on your cheek." You say as you washed it off. While you were washing your eyes landed on the clock and you started to panic. "Crap he's probably doing all the work while I'm not helping." You cussed, setting your tray to the side to dry and wiped your hands dry with a towel hanging by the end of the counter. You waved Shinsou goodbye before booking it up the steps.

You opened your door and Tokoyami was by the table doing work silently. He turned around to look at you, "oh you're back." You nodded and closed the door behind you, "sorry for the wait, i had to wash my tray and all that." You took your seat in front of your laptop, "have you gotten anything?" You asked. He takes the book that he was holding and hands it over to you, "everything is pretty much there. All 15." 

Your eyes widened, "you already did it all? While I wasn't here?" He laughed nervously, "I didn't mean to but.. when I checked the book I happen to arrive at a page that has all the information we need. Now that's left is the presentation." You sighed, rubbing your forehead in shame, "I'm really sorry I didn't get to help. I should've known better." He noticed the disappointment in your face and started to panic.

"It's really no problem! I actually didn't do that much work since it was all in one page.." he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. You looked at him with widen eyes before shaking your thoughts away. "Well, the least I can do is to do the presentation now." He looks at you with raised brows, "can I help?" Now you were convinced that something was wrong with him. "It's completely fine! Oh my God, you did more than enough."

"But I didn't do much." You sighed and looked at him and his eyes were filled with determination. Something you rarely see from people when it comes to schoolwork. "Fine, but it's only because you're insisting. Gosh I don't know why you're so determined to help." You laughed and he smiled lightly, "I just want this to be fair." You couldn't help but scoff, raising a brow at him, "really now? It looks like I'm the one not helping, y'know." 

He shrugged his shoulders lightly, "to be fair haven't you been doing group works by yourself for most of your life?" Your smile grew wider, "fair point, but I don't see why _you_ have to help out this much. It's very kind of you though, thank you so much." 

"Since we still have time, why don't I help you out with the presentation. Especially now that we're done gathering all the information we need." You nodded your head at him, failing to hide your growing smile, "fine, fine, fine, you win." You two started doing the presentation. Adding images, pasting the information, designing the slides, etc. Since you just needed to copy and paste the information you had already written down in your laptop, you two were able to talk a lot more to one another.

"You did that in middle school?" He asked in disbelief while you giggled, eyes glued to your screen. "I was a stupid kid, alright? I didn't know better." He shook his head, "even I knew the difference between the boys and girls bathroom." You glared at him and he just laughs it off. 

"You know I didn't really expect you to be this talkative, Tokoyami." He paused and looked at you with raised brows. You quickly stopped typing and covered your mouth with your hand, "crap sorry I didn't mean it in a bad way or anything! I'm just so used to you being quiet all the time and only saying a few words."

"It's actually... nice to hear your voice." His eyes widened and though his head was of a black bird, you can vaguely see a pink tint on the sides of his head. "Did I overdo it again-" he shook his head and was looking away from you now, "stop overthinking so much." You look at him with raised brows. "I know we don't know much about each other _personally_ but I do know enough about you to know that you overthink a lot." 

You didn't respond at first causing him to freak out. You chuckled and just shook your head, "don't worry about it." You hug onto your knees and pulled them close to your chest, "you're not the first person to tell me that. Trust me, I've heard it a lot of times, it doesn't faze me as much." He nodded his head slowly. You lean forward and had your chin resting on your folded knees, "I appreciate it though. I don't know what I did to deserve people caring for me and looking out for me."

"It's kind of embarrassing though. It probably means that people who aren't even close to me know about me overthinking a lot. It's.. pathetic, isn't it?" You heaved a breath and shut your eyes, trying to gather your thoughts. "If it makes you feel better, I feel the same way." Your eyes shot wide open as you looked at him with your eyebrows raised. "I overthink a lot too- although it may not seem like it, I do it a lot. Especially when I'm left alone by myself."

The room went silent and the echoes of your classmates talking downstairs were the only thing filling your room up with sound. It wasn't awkward, it was rather comforting. 

You sat up straight and turned your body to get a better look at him. "Tokoyami," he gives you a curious look, waiting for you to finish. You smiled lightly, "do you mind if I call you Fumikage?" It took him a while to respond since his thoughts were still registering inside his head but eventually he nodded in agreement, "of course." Smiling, you looked at him with sparkling eyes, "what about Fumi then?" 

His eyes widened in shock, "w-what-" you giggled loudly, "I'm kidding. Of course, the offer still stands, it's all up to you." You said before turning your attention to your laptop, "let's continue our work, shall we?" 


	31. First Argument

Despite you not wanting Tokoyami to spend the night doing this project that wasn't even due til Thursday, it ended up happening. There you two were, sitting beside each other, eyes glued to the screen, talking about rather personal things, and just spending time together. You were on the last slide of the presentation and guilt just kept swallowing you whole, feeling bad that you dragged Tokoyami into this when you two could've continued it the next day.

"I'm really sorry. We could've continued this tomorrow you know that, right?" You look over to him with innocent eyes and raised brows. He couldn't help but chuckle, leaning back a bit, "I lost count how many times you've said that." You heaved a breath, turning your gaze back at the screen. "I really don't mind, if I did, I would've went to bed like 2 hours ago." He said in an assuring voice. 

Nodding your head weakly, you resumed your work. You two were now in the common area since there's a rule about students staying together past 11pm in the same room. The whole ground floor was dark, the only source of light was from your laptop. The moment you finished the last slide a breath of relieved escaped from your lips and so did Tokoyami's. "Now all that's left is to recheck everything in the morning to see if there are any typos and such." You push down the screen and closed it, rubbing your face with your two hands.

"Sorry if I pressured you to let me help you. You must be tired from dealing with me." You put your hands down and shook your head quickly, "don't think that way. I appreciate all the help. To tell you the truth, I don't even think I would've been able to sleep if we didn't continue to work on this." You hugged onto your knees and pulled them close. "So thank you for that. But can you at least let me do the rechecking?" He lets out a gentle laugh, "fine, I'll leave it to you."

You both sat there in silence until it hit you. "Hey Fumi," you sat up straight and looked at him though he was basically almost invisible due to the dark. He hummed in response, "do you want to hangout after school tomorrow? It's the least I can do. Why don't we head over to a convenience store nearby and I'll treat you to some snacks. It's the least I can do especially with all the help you did."

He looks away sheepishly, not expecting the sudden invite, "you don't have to." Shaking your head, you gave him a light smile, "please? I want to get to know you better and it'd be a shame if we just stopped talking completely after this project is done." There was a silence between you which causes you to panic, stumbling on your words, "crap sorry maybe I went overboard with that one.." you laughed nervously, "..but I do mean it." 

You were grateful that you can barely see Tokoyami because if you did, he would've witness your flushed face. Nodding in agreement, "alright." A wide smile crept on the corners of your lips but before you could say something there was a sudden sound from the kitchen that startles the two of you. You both turned your heads towards the dark figure at the corner. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you both!" Uraraka's voice was shaking in fear as she held up her two hands as if she was surrendering. You let out a sigh of relief, leaning back, "I almost had a heart attack." You said as your hand clutched on your chest, hearing your heartbeat from your ears. She walks over to the two of you and turns a lamp on, making you and Tokoyami wince at the sudden light. 

"What are you two doing this late?" She asks. You gesture to your laptop and papers scattered around the coffee table, "we're doing the project." Her eyes widen in amazement, "you two are already done?!" You look over at each other and nodded slowly making her even more impressed. Not long after there were footsteps going down the stairs, walking to where everyone was.

"Why is everyone here and awake at this hour?" Asked Sero as he looked at you and Tokoyami who were seated beside each other with a closed laptop and scattered notes. "We just finished everything and were just about to head back into our rooms." You say and stood up, retrieving your laptop and started piling up the papers, Tokoyami helping you shortly after. Everyone said their goodbyes and went to their respective dorms.

You were packing your things to leave school until a figure walks over to your desk making you look up from your bag. “Hey,” you let out and gave Shinsou a warm smile. He gave you a small smile before it dropping, “I wanted to ask you if you wanted to head over to the park? We can go and buy ice cream or something.” He offers which made you quite happy actually before you remember something. 

Letting out a hiss, you give him saddened eyes, “I’m sorry but I already had plans. I’ll take your offer next time!” He shrugs it off and just nods, “alright-“ right before he could walk away Tokoyami shows up between the two of you, “are you ready?” You smiled while nodding, “shall we go now?” You asked your bird friend who nods in agreement. 

You pick your bag up but was stopped right away by Shinsou's halted figure. You look up to meet his eyes and there was something that seemed off to you. His dark purple eyes move to your friend beside you. The tension was so thick you can practically cut it with a knife if you had one with you. Clearing your throat, “I’m taking Tokoyami to the convenience store across the street.” You explained. The two individuals were quiet before Shinsou sighs, “do whatever you want.” He says and walks away, holding his bag over his shoulder. 

“What happened?” Tokoyami asked with the most confused eyes. Shaking your head slowly and shrugging, “I have no idea, I’ll talk to him about it later. Why don’t we buy ice cream now?” He nods his head and you two were off. The two of you might've only spent one whole day together, but you've grown fond of them. The presentation was tomorrow and you two had already discussed about the report so there wasn't much work to do anymore. You've already asked Aizawa when homeroom was over and he granted you permission to leave school campus. 

"Guess everyone will be busy since the deadline is tomorrow." He lets out and you nod, "at least we finished early." You both had arrived at the convenience store you were too familiar with, heading inside you two went ahead to the ice cream section, eyes hovering over the various selections. You hummed before turning your head to look over at him, "did you find something you want?" Judging from his face you were pretty sure he was having a hard time choosing as well. 

Eventually he takes something out and was now waiting for you. Feeling adventurous, you take something you've never tried before. He looks at the dairy product in your hand, "green tea?" You nodded with a smile, "I haven't tried this before so why not give it a shot?" He slowly nodded his head, looking like he had something in mind which makes you quirk a brow. Tokoyami gasped silently when he realized that you had noticed his expression, quickly shaking his head, "sorry, I just didn't think you were the type of person to get that flavor, that's all." 

You couldn't help but laugh, "whats that supposed to mean?" He gulped, "well.. maybe it's just my opinion and based on my limited knowledge about you, but you seem to be a strawberry or even vanilla type of person." You looked at him with your lips agape, making him look away all flustered. You noticed and giggled, "I like those two flavors so I'll let this one go." 

You two headed over to the counter and before you could ask him to give his ice cream to you, he gently snatches yours from your hand and pays for everything before you could. You stood there with a face full of disbelief, not knowing what had just happened. He walks over to you and hands you yours, "here," you pouted and took it, "I told you I was going to pay!" 

He doesn't respond until you two finally walked out of the place, "and I paid for you." He responded simply, putting the ice cream inside his mouth. You sighed in defeat, "you really do remind me a lot of someone." You didn't mean to say it out loud but you did, making him look at you. "Really?" You flashed him a sheepish smile and laughed nervously, "yeah, you do." 

Tokoyami hummed, "I hope you mean in a good way.." quickly, you nodded your head, getting all defensive, "of course! I meant it in the best way possible." The conversation then changes, now it was about how the events unfolded last school year. You two discussed about the attacks, the league of villains, theories if they'll ever come back especially everything that had happened, etc. 

"Oh right!" Your sudden outburst makes him flinch as you turn your head to look at him with sparkling eyes, "I heard you worked with Hawks!" A smile crept on the corners of his beak as he nodded, "yeah, I was. And you worked with Miss Midnight, correct?" You scoffed, "it's whatever we all know how she is, but what about you? How was Hawks? Was he nice? I've only seen him in action, never really got the chance to meet him personally." 

He sighed, "he can be a handful at times, but he's quite responsible when he's serious. Tends to joke a lot, maybe a little too much, but I'd say that's what makes him more interesting than any other Pro Hero that I've met." Your smile grows wider without you noticing, "I'm glad he saw something in you to recruit you in his agency." You say before taking a bite of the green tea ice cream. 

Tokoyami looked at you in awe, like you just said something so cool until your expression drops and turned into a disgusted one, your lips shut completely as if you were keeping something inside. "Are you.. okay?" You shut your eyes and nodded, forcing a smile as you kept your mouth sealed. You swallowed the now melted ice cream in your mouth and exhaled a long breath. 

"Was it that bad..?" Concerned was present in his tone, offering you a bottle of water. You chug it down, hoping the taste would disappear but you accidentally finished the whole thing. "Don't worry," he says before you could apologize, taking the now empty bottle in your hand and throws it in a trash can nearby specifically only for plastic bottles. You heaved a breath, "I told you I should've paid. You wasted your money for nothing." 

He shook his head slowly, "not necessarily. Why don't we switch? If you don't mind, of course." You look at him with wide eyes and rejected right away, "you're being too nice. I'll just finish it myself and pay for the consequences." Tokoyami looks at you, though he doesn't have eyebrows you can clearly see him raising an invisible one up, waiting for you to take another bite if you even could. 

In defeat, you slowly hand yours to him, "take a bite and tell me if you like it or not. It literally taste like grass." He looks at you confused at first before slowly leaning forward, taking a bite from it while you held it, fighting off the flush to get to his face. He chewed for a while and finally swallows, "it's not bad. I can take it, let's switch." He hands you his and you hand him yours. 

You give his a taste and right away there was a drastic change in your expression. "How come I've never tried this before, it's really good." He smiled lightly, "I'm glad you like it. It's actually a favorite of mine, been eating it since I was a kid and its actually been so long since I gotten a taste of that." You start to feel guilty that you had just taken something precious away from him. "Don't look too sad about it, I can buy another one if I ever feel like eating it." 

"Besides, you look way more happy eating that than me so..." he suddenly paused, now just realizing that he might've said too much. You couldn't help but giggle, "well if the time comes where you're craving it, let me buy for us next time. Actually, forget that, you might pull the same stunt again if I let you go with me." You glared, causing him to let out a gentle laugh you've never heard from him before. 

You suddenly stopped in your tracks making him halt shortly after. "I just got an idea." You look at him with a wide smile while he looks back at you confused. 

"We're back," you say and entered the Heights Alliance, closing the door behind you. Everyone was scattered around the common area, some people were by the couch, some by the dining tables, not to mention papers and books everywhere. Tokoyami puts a box down by the table counter which makes everyone raise their brows. "Thought you two were just going to buy something, didn't think you'd buy a whole box of it." Jirou says from the couch. 

"Well, it'd be unfair if it was just us that got ice cream, so we decided to buy everyone-" before you could finish they start swarming towards you and Tokoyami, the two of you quickly dodged the stampede of hungry classmates. They all gave you both their thank yous before heading back to their original spots, continuing with their work. Mina wrapped her arms around you and pulls you into a tight hug, "(Y/N) you're too nice, what did we do to deserve you." She whined as if she was crying in joy. 

Mina gives Tokoyami a thumbs up, "thank you as well, Tokoyami-kun!" She eventually lets go of you when her partner starts calling for her attention. You look down at the box and noticed that there were still a few left. You look around the room and noticed Bakugou, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Shinsou were nowhere to be found. You turn your gaze to Tokoyami, "should we go looking for the others? I wouldn't want their ice cream to melt." 

He nods in agreement, "sure." You tell him that they're probably in their dorms doing the project since the people who weren't present were all pairs. He takes two and you did as well, Tokoyami goes up the steps first to look for Uraraka and Midoriya while you stayed downstairs, putting the box away for future purposes. 

Your attention moved to the figure that suddenly walked in. Quickly, you made your way towards him and hand him the ice cream, "here, eat it before it melts." You offer the blond who just looks at you with his usual red angry eyes before turning his gaze to the dairy product you were holding out for him to take. He violently snatches it from your hand and walks right past you, letting out a grunt. 

"Oh uh, Bakugou, do you have any idea where Shins-" he turns back to look at you but this time he looked even more angry than he already was, "don't mention that frizzy hair. I want nothing to do with him." You looked at the ice cream he was holding and could've sworn you could hear the popsicle stick cracking. "Can you at least tell me where he is? Since you two are partners-"

"I don't give a damn. We were done with our project yesterday so why would I involve myself with him? He's a pain in the ass." You sighed, giving up and letting the angered blond go. You walk up the steps and went to the door that led to his dorm. Clearing your throat, you knocked on the door slowly. It did feel strange to you, you stopped knocking on Shinsou's door since you've gotten used to hanging out in his place a lot, but for some reason you felt like you just couldn't do that. At least right now. 

You stood there and no response. Just when you were about to walk away and put his ice cream in the freeze the door opens before you could take a step. "Oh, it's you." His tone was harsh but you shrugged it off. "Tokoyami and I went out and decided to get everyone ice cream." You said and hand him his, waiting for him to take it. He shook his head, "I'm not hungry, why don't you give it to someone else." He slowly closes the door but you used your hand to stop it from completely closing. 

"Can we talk? What's wrong?" He stopped trying to close to the door but he didn't bother to open it so you barely saw him. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just tired, that's all." 

"Stop lying to me and talk to me. You've been acting weird since yesterday, what's up with you?" He doesn't respond and just sighs, "I'm telling you, I'm just tired. I'll be okay once I get some rest. I've had a long day and want it to be over with." It goes silent between the two of you. Your hand was still on the door before you finally heaved a breath. Taking the ice cream, you slipped it inside his room using the slightly opened door that he was still holding onto, "at least eat that. You invited me a while ago to buy ice cream with you, so please just take that if you're not going to talk to me." 

"I'll be leaving now. Text me if you need anything. You were completely fine a while ago so I hope you suddenly didn't get sick. If you're feeling dizzy or feel yourself suffocating then give me a call cause mom actually sent me some med-" the door suddenly opens, you were finally able to see Shinsou. He sighs and takes the ice cream that was on the floor. His dark purple eyes look at you before he tilts his head, telling you to come in. You did as told and entered, taking your seat on his bed while he closed the door behind you. 

"Make it quick." He opens the packaging and takes out the ice cream inside, putting it in his mouth as he leaned his back against the wall, waiting for you to start talking. "Toshi, can you please be more honest with me?" He lifts a brow, "what are you talking about? I've been nothing but honest with you." The hands that were on your lap curled into fists, tugging on the ends of your skirt. "I believe that, but.." you lowered your head down and let out a weak chuckle, "I don't think you're being honest with me right now." 

"Believe what you want. We haven't hung out properly for just 2 days and you're suddenly doubting me? Some friend you are." You got up on your feet when you felt yourself getting agitated, "so you lying is _my_ fault? I know you well enough to know when you're lying to me or not so don't blame it all on me for knowing you and being a good friend." 

He chuckles, throwing away the popsicle stick in the trash can that was at the corner of his room, "I'm really not feeling too well today, (Y/N). Can you please let me rest? Bakugou already drained all my remaining energy and I'd prefer for me to rest since I can't think straight." Your lips parted but you quickly closed them. "Alright.." you walk past him and left his room, closing the door behind you. 

"(Y/N)!" You came back to reality when you heard someone calling your name. You turn around and saw Tokoyami running up to you. "I've already given Uraraka and Miroriya's ice cream to them. What about you?" You gave him a smile, nodding. "I coincidentally bumped into Bakugou in the common area and I just gave Shinsou's." You point to the door behind you. 

He nods and suddenly cough, "this might seem out of the blue but.. Dark Shadow seems to really like you and she wants to know if you want to watch something together?" You look at him with parted lips which makes him panic, "if you don't have anything planned of course! I just thought since we're done with our project-" you nodded, "sure, I don't mind." 

You didn't mind spending more time with Tokoyami since you two are friends. Plus, you needed to get your mind off of things; by things you mean Shinsou. You're worried sick about him, but you know it's best right now to just let him rest up since he does seem more stressed and annoyed than usual. As much as you want to comfort him, you knew that wasn't possible right now. 

You couldn't think straight. You weren't even paying attention to the movie. It's not that the only accepted Tokoyami's offer was just because of Shinsou, but it did bother you that he couldn't leave your mind. What if he was sick? What if it gets worse? Does he have medicine? More and more questions filled up your mind, it was suffocating you mentally, drowning you almost. 

"(Y/N)? (Y/N), are you alright?" You blinked and just noticed that Tokoyami had paused the movie, giving you a worried look. You rub your eyes gently and took a deep breath, "yeah, I'm alright, sorry for worrying you." He shook his head, "it's completely fine, but are you sure you're okay? I couldn't help but notice how pale you've gotten ever since we handed out ice creams." 

You nodded your head, "I'm completely fine, don't worry about me." He looks at you and just sighs, "I don't want to seem like a pushover since we only just got close, but.. you can tell me if something is wrong. Plus, you don't look too good. I might know what to do to make you feel slightly better." You raised your brows at him and next thing you knew you felt something wrap around you, squeezing you lightly. You look down and it was Dark Shadow. 

She was nuzzling her head against your arm and you could've even sworn that she was purring like a cat. You couldn't help but pull the dark figure close to you, rubbing your forehead against hers. "Feeling.. better?" He asks, taking his seat beside you. You nodded with a big smile, "thank you, Fumi." 

The door suddenly bursts open making the three of you flinch as it made a loud sound. "(Y/N)!" Mina yelled loudly with Kaminari beside her, both panting. You got up on your feet and gave them a worried look, "did something happen?" You asked. "It's Shinsou." 

You, Tokoyami, Mina, and Kaminari ran to the common area. The moment you arrived you saw a huge crowd by the couch area. "(Y/N)'s finally here." Jirou announces. "What happened here?" You looked over to Shinsou whose mouth was being covered by Sero's tape and he was tied down to a chair. "Did you guys kidnap him?" You asked, looking at everyone around you. 

They quickly shook their heads. "We were all doing our project until Shinsou suddenly came down the stairs and went to the kitchen. Next thing we knew he was fighting with Bakugou and ended up brainwashing him." You look around and notice another group of people at the corner of the room, it was Bakugou who was also tied up in a chair but his eyes were pale, still brainwashed. 

"We put a stop to it at once and thought it was over until Shinsou started targeting everyone." Kirishima explains. "Yeah but it seemed like he wasn't being himself. His words were all sloppy and you could barely understand him." Kaminari adds. You turn your gaze back to Shinsou whose eyes were glaring at you. "I'm going to take the tape off-"

They all screamed "no" at the same time, making you freeze. "What if Aizawa- _sensei_ walks in and sees all this? Don't talk to him just yet, alright?" You attempted to calm everyone down and it somewhat worked. Slowly, you gently ripped the tape off from his mouth, it getting slightly red from where the tape was due to how sticky it was. Just by looking at his eyes, they were bloodshot and his nose was runny. He looked sick. 

"Shinsou, I'm going to let you go, alright?" With assistance, everyone frees the boy and he just remained seated. It went on like that for a few more seconds before he suddenly stood up. "Jeez, how long were you guys going to keep me like that." He rubbed the back of his neck and glared at everyone around him. "D-Dude.. we were convinced that you were going insane." Kirishima comments on. 

"Last thing I remembered I was in my room drinking medicine. Next thing I knew I was here all tied up." He looks over to you before looking away. 

Kaminari lets out a laugh, "good thing we got to (Y/N) in time. If it weren't for her we would've kept Shinsou tied up all night long." Mina nods, "we found her just in time. Oh yeah, since you weren't in your room we ended up looking inside almost everyone else's rooms. We even had Todoroki and Shoji look for you outside just in case you weren't here." 

She sighs, resting both of her hands on the back of her neck as she leaned her head back, "turns out you were just in Tokoyami's room watching a movie and getting all cuddly with Dark Shadow." She teased. You glared at her but before you could say anything there was a sudden crash happening behind you. Shinsou had his fists clenched on Tokoyami's collar, glaring at him, "what were you doing punk?" 

And once again everyone started to panic, not knowing what to do. "I don't know what has gotten into you, but if you continue this I'll have no choice but to fight back." Tokoyami glares back. "Separate them!" Iida yelled and everyone did as told. You ran over to Tokoyami, "are you okay?" You asked and he nods his head. "What a coward. Come fight me, won't you?" His voice was deep and hoarse, if you closed your eyes and just listened you would have never thought that was Shinsou. 

"Toshi, stop-" His words started getting sloppy, almost impossible to understand. It was like he was high on something. "We're back." Todoroki announces with Shoji beside him and not long after Aizawa walks in too. 

* * *

You were seated on the couch, biting on your fingernails anxiously as you observed Aizawa talking to Shinsou through the window. You were too busy to notice that Tokoyami had taken his seat beside you until he spoke. "You okay?" You heaved a breath and turned to look at him, "I should be the one asking you that." He chuckled, "don't worry he didn't do much, he just grabbed me that's all. But you seem to need more comforting than I do." Everyone had either gone back to their rooms or were still in the common area. 

The door opens and it was Shinsou. He meets your eyes for a quick second before turning away, heading up to his room. "What are you waiting for?" You turn your head to Tokoyami who was smiling lightly at you. "Go talk to him." And with that you were running after him, calling his name. 

"Shinsou!" 

"Not today, (Y/N). I'm not in the mood." 

You finally caught up to him and matched his pace, "can we please talk?" He sighed, "what exactly is there to talk about? I drank medicine, somehow got drunk off of it, reacted violently, got in trouble, and have been advised to rest. Is that enough?" Shinsou opened the door to his room and you followed him inside, closing the door behind you as he sat down on his bed, his face buried deep inside his hands. 

"I know you're not okay, so just tell me whats been bothering you-"

"Nothing is wrong. You're wasting your time." 

“Are you serious right now?” You looked at Shinsou with wide eyes and furrowed brows. He lets out a sigh, running his hand through his indigo locks in frustration, “I told you to forget about it didn’t I?” He lets out. You felt yourself getting hotter and hotter by the second but words wouldn’t come out of your mouth. “I wasn't being myself, it’s no big deal I promise you.” You sat down beside him, “Toshi why don’t we just talk it out? Let’s resolve this issue-“

“There is no issue, can you please calm the fuck down?” He deadpans, glaring daggers at you. Your body froze and shuddered in fear, you’ve never seen that look on Shinsou’s face before. Noticing a little too late, something wet drops on the back of your hand that was resting on your lap making your eyes widen. Shinsou was just as shocked as you, his features quickly softening once he realized what he had just done. Wiping away your tears with your hands, you sniffled silently. 

His hand reaches to your face but stopped right away, pulling it away as he looked away from you. Shinsou looked down and sighed, not knowing what to say in this situation. You bit your quivering lip, trying to stop it from shaking. Taking a deep breath, you drop your hands from your head, “sorry, I don’t know what has gotten into me just now...” you tried to make it sound cheerful but failed, he saw right through you like usual. 

There was silence between you two. Not like you didn’t mind, it gave you time to cool your emotions down until Shinsou starts to talk. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He apologized, keeping his head down. You shook your head slowly, “don’t worry too much about it. I was just caught off guard, that’s all.” You forced out a laugh. He moved his hands up to his face and rubbed on it in frustration, “that was the last side I wanted you to see of me.” He lets out a bit sadder than he would want, but it was a little too late to take it back. 

You’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t admit that that was the scariest you’ve seen Shinsou. You’ve heard from others that he has a killer glare and you could never imagine it since he seems all soft and nice around you, but after today you prefer to never see _that_ Shinsou ever again. 

“Can we… talk about what’s happening please? I’m really worried... especially about you.” You kept the distance between you two, knowing it was best even though you just wanted nothing more than to comfort him with your touch. He shook his head, “It’s really stupid. I’d prefer if we just forget about all this.” He was about to get up but you quickly got hold of his hand making him freeze. “Toshi, I really don’t want this to happen any longer. Ever since yesterday you had this look in your eyes as if you had something to tell me but you were hesitating.” 

He doesn’t respond since you were pretty much spot on. Your hold on him slowly gets tighter, squeezing his hand in yours that made him calm down a bit before taking his seat down once again. You wait for him to start talking and eventually he does. 

“It’s just that… I didn’t really mind you and Tokoyami hangout out at first since you two are doing a project but the more you two spend time together I can’t help but feel like… you’re replacing me. Not to mention you did tell me one time that we seemed awfully like each other.” 

You thought he was kidding at first, but that look on his face just carved a hole in your chest. Your free hand moves up to his shoulder as you rubbed on it lightly, “Toshi, I’m not replacing you. That’s like… that’s impossible.” He finally looks at you with his brows raised. You took a deep breath when you saw the disbelief on his face, “I’m not replacing you, alright? That’s the last thing that’s ever going to happen. Did you forget that you’re the sole reason why I’m who I am today?” 

He furrowed his brows in confusion, “I don’t quite understand what you mean by that.” You got up and moved in front of him, pulling his head to your chest as you hugged him gently, “I’ve already told you millions and millions of times, Toshi. Meeting you and being friends with you was one of the best things that ever happened to me. You’ve motivated me to get better and better, have given me advice, and you’re just a great person.” 

“Sounds cheesy, but no one can compare to you.” 

A light shade of pink was dusted on his cheeks, he was glad you couldn’t see it due to the hug. You hold onto his shoulders and pull him away, “was that enough?” You asked and gave him the biggest smile on your face. 

He felt his insides getting warm, you really were his source of energy. He looks down and heaves a breath, “I’m sorry for my behavior. I must’ve been a dick.” You shook your head, “it’s completely understandable. Plus, it’s not me that you need to apologize to.” He looks up at you with knitted brows while you smiled lightly, hoping for him to get the hint. 

Shinsou eventually gets the message and sighs in defeat, "I know.. I'll do it tomorrow because right now I don't think I can." You cup both sides of his face and start rubbing your thumb lightly on his cheeks, "whatever floats your boat as long as you apologize to him." He didn't notice but he was leaning closer to your touch, almost nuzzling against your palm. 

"I don't even know how you continue to talk to me as if I didn't do anything wrong. Especially with the stunt that I pulled back there-" 

"I know you didn't mean any harm. Just by the look in your eyes I knew something was wrong and based on that tiny bottle of medicine, I assume you overdosed." He raised his brows at you before turning his head to the side, seeing the bottle almost half empty. He shuts his eyes and exhales a breath, "I didn't.. you didn't think that I.." you giggled and hushed him, pulling him close to you once again and hugged him tightly, your hand playing with his indigo locks. 

He looks up at you, "how long are you going to treat me like a child?" You laughed, knowing he was kidding. Shinsou hums before burying his face back into your chest, "not that.. I mind though.." he mumbled to himself as you continued to play with his hair. This was probably the first time you've ever touched and played with his hair. You've always wondered how it would feel like in your hands and oh boy, you were not disappointed. 

It was more fluffier than you had imagined. Not to mention he smelled amazing. 

The both of you would never admit it loudly to one another, but none of you wanted to move. He was seated and resting his head on your chest while you had your arm around him while the other was on his soft indigo hair. The sound of your heartbeat was enough to make him pass out in your touch. 

"Toshi?" You pull away gently and noticed that he had fallen asleep. Smiling and using your Quirk, you tucked him in his bed without a problem. If it weren't for your Quirk you would've had to disturb his sleep just to tell him to lie down. You watched over him sleeping soundly before turning the lights off, closing the door behind you. 


	32. Bonding Time?

You looked down at Shinsou who was seated and had his head down. You had your arms crossed on your chest, your pointed finger tapping on your arm as you waited for him to reply to you. "So?" He lets out a breath, shoulder slumping forward as his hand reaches for the back of his neck, "isn't it a bit sudden? It all happened yesterday and it might be too soon-" 

"He's here," you cut him off once you saw that Tokoyami had entered the classroom. "I'll leave the rest to you, alright? I'll just be there for backup and emotional support." You give him a smile but he just heaved a breath. "Hey, look at me." His purple eyes move up to look at yours and you flash him an encouraging smile, "you got this." And just like that he takes a deep breath and stood up from his seat, approaching his classmate who was just two desks away from his.

Shinsou stood in front of him while he was seated, Tokoyami lifts his head up and greets the indigo haired male with a nod. You were looking from the side and you can already tell how nervous Shinsou was from all of this. Inhaling, he finally lets out the words that he has been holding back on, "I'm sorry about yesterday." Tokoyami shook his head lightly, "it's completely fine."

There was painful silence between the two and though you weren't even part of that conversation and was just listening from the distance, it felt as if you were there with them as their awkward silence almost suffocated you. Saving them and yourself from that painful and somehow long conversation, you ran up to the two and gave them both a laugh, "I have an idea, why don't we hangout during lunch?" The two of them turn their heads at you in confusion.

"Believe it or not but you two have a lot more things in common that you'd think and I'm sure you two could become friends!" They don't respond but instead avert their eyes away. You cleared your throat, "what do you say, Fumi? Want to eat lunch with us?" Tokoyami nods his head slowly, "sure, I don't mind." You smiled lightly, "great, and you Toshi?" Shinsou takes a deep breath before sighing, "it's not like I can say no."

You clasped your hands together, "great! I can't wait for later then." You wave Tokoyami goodbye and started walking alongside Shinsou as he whispered, "that was painful." You nodded without hesitation, "I've never seen you that socially awkward before. Maybe.. grouping you with Tokoyami was a bad idea since you two aren't really the most talkative." You laughed nervously, rubbing the back of your head.

"The only reason why I survived you, and probably him as well, is because you have a big mouth that never shuts up." You gave him a glare but you couldn't help but silently agree to him. "Not that I minded, but why did you suddenly invite him to lunch? Are you plotting something?" You scoffed, nudging his side gently, "you overthink too much! I just want you two to get along, especially after what happened." You mumbled the last part as the whole scene played in your head.

"I just drank too much medicine, that's all. It's not like that incident will happen again, I've already been lectured more than enough, most of it is from you too." You rolled your eyes at him, "speaking of which, when you drank that medicine did you just chug it all down your system?" He shrugged his shoulders, "can't remember and I would rather forget about everything that occurred."

"(Y/N), can you come with me to the Teachers' Lounge? I need to pass something to Aizawa- _sensei_." Mina waved her arm in the air trying to get your attention. You nod your head at her direction, "see you later," you wave him goodbye before walking out the classroom with your pink alien friend. 

Shinsou takes his seat down and sighs, more timid than usual. It's not like he was hiding something, he really just couldn't remember a thing from the night before. Last thing he remembered was you walking out of his room after telling you that he just needs rest and next thing he knew he was being strapped down to a chair using Sero's tape while everyone held him down in the process. He brought up his hand to his temple, massaging it as he tried to remember more things.

His eyes widened when he remembered your talk with him and how he never really got to hear the end of it since he dozed off in your touch. He just assumed you used your Quirk on him to tuck him in since he's actually quite a light sleeper and wasn't woken up when you moved him at all. 

"Hey frizzy hair." His dark purple eyes turn to the blond beside him who was glaring back at him, his hands tucked deep inside his pockets. Shinsou sighs, if he were to be trapped in a room alone with someone, he'd rather die than be locked up in a room with Bakugou. "Ignoring me? Let's not forget about that unfinished fight we had yesterday-" Kirishima slides in and gets between the two, "now, now, Bakugou. It's too early for that, don't you think? And Shinsou wasn't being himself." The red head laughs nervously and tries to calm his angry friend down but failed miserably.

The angry blond clicked his tongue, "get out of my way, shitty hair. You only won because you caught me off guard, but I assure you that won't be happening toda-" Kirishima goes behind him and gives him a back hug, laughing nervously as he dragged the Pomeranian away, "sorry about the mess, Shinsou." He laughs once more while Bakugou was cussing at him in the background, demanding him to let him go.

He brushed his hands through his hair as he exhaled a breath, _"what have I gotten myself into."_ He thought. 

* * *

You used your Quirk to get the androids down the burning building. Shoji was still inside gathering the ones that haven't evacuated yet and Tsuyu was leading them to safety. "How are you doing, Tentacole?" You asked using the headset microphone attached under your helmet, waiting for an update from him as you finished your task. "I've found 2 and am on the top floor." He responds not long after. You nod your head, "just tell me the signal and I'll get you guys down." You checked the timer on your wrist, "please hurry."

Shoji checked everywhere to make sure he didn't leave anyone behind. He has 2 androids resting on his back and he spots an unconscious one on the ground under a table. "I got the last one, Psychokinesis." There was an explosion that happened right behind him, causing him to run the opposite direction. "Tentacole, communicate with me. Where are you heading?" The building was starting to crumble down and if Shoji took any longer you and your team would fail the mission completely.

"North wing. Jumping in 5." He says quick and clear. Quick on your feet, you move to where the north wing was, luckily you were in the east so it wasn't too far. You see a figure by the window on the highest floor which makes you move fast. Shoji's arms all wrap around the androids resting on his body before making a big jump. Stopping your tracks and aiming your hands at him in the air, he starts to float and you set him on the ground safely.

"Stage Clear!"

You exchange high fives with Tsuyu and Shoji with big smiles on all of your faces before heading back to where everyone was. They all cheer for your team once you arrived back. You sat down on the ground and tried catching your breath, having your back leaned up against the cold metal wall. A hand offers you a water bottle, making you look up to see who it was. "Are you going to pass out?" His voice was stoic as ever making you smile lightly, taking the bottle from him.

You chug the bottle down your system and shook your head, "it's not that. I just ran from the East to North. Though I wasn't that close to where Shoji was, luckily he was in my range." You wiped the water residue from the corners of your lips using your arm, "he still would've made that jump without me just fine." You put the bottle down and heaved a breath, "how did I do?" He squats down to get by your eye level, "you did great, but of course, running is still not your forte." You gently punched his chest as you rolled your eyes at him while he laughs.

"Shinsou, our team is up next." Mina calls. He gets back up on his feet and turns around, putting on his voice changer mask. You look over to where he was walking and just released a nervous laugh. He was with Bakugou. Again.

"Someone sitting here?" Jirou asks and you shook your head as she sat down beside you. "You did amazing as usual. Have you gotten used to using your Quirk on people?" You gently shook your head, "kind of? I can manage a lot more than I used to definitely, but if I overdo it like last time I still pass out." You fold your knees and pulled them close to your chest, "but I haven't passed out due to exhaustion in.. almost a year actually. The closest I've gotten to that point is when I was an intern for Miss Midnight, but it was just my legs giving up on me." You let out a gentle laugh.

She smiled lightly and looks down, "I'm still envious of you, you know that right?" You turn your head to look at her with slightly widen eyes making her chuckle at your reaction. "I don't pass out just like you do, which you'd think I'd have a bigger advantage but.. I'm still falling behind no matter what." You couldn't help but remember your fight with Jirou that she challenged you in and how shitty you still feel about it. 

Taking a deep breath, you exhaled. You just wanted to let out an apology like last time, but it didn't really end well. You just made things worse. You and Jirou were still close friends and like everyone else, she's still one of your competitors. She giggles, "that doesn't mean I'm giving up that easily though." You look over at her and she was smiling brightly at you. "I'll surpass you one day." You smiled back before you two bump your fists together, "and I'll fight back."

The bell starts to ring which meant the next match had just started. 

* * *

You walked out of the changing room with Mina and had coincidentally bumped into Sero and Tokoyami. The two of you send the boys warm smiles and greet them. “You guys did so well!” Mina says excitedly towards them with the brightest smile on her lips. Seri scoffed, “it was nothing. Tokoyami has really learned how to control Dark Shadow a lot more.” 

Tokoyami shook his head lightly, “it was nothing. Could’ve done it a lot better and quicker.” You gently nudged on his side and laughed, “give yourself some credit. You’ve improved way more than you think you did.” Mina playfully rolled her eyes at you, “look who’s being really nice, Miss-First-Place.” Your eyes widened, “what are you implying? It’s not like I was lying.” 

“Mina is right. I mean- not in the way you think.” Sero quickly dodges before you give him a glare. Tokoyami agrees from the side, “we all saw what you did. Despite being at East wing, you managed to make it to the North without a problem.” You heaved a breath, “I don’t think _”without a problem”_ is the right phrase to use.” You laughed nervously, your lids feeling heavy just remembering the exhaustion you felt. 

“Well, because of that you managed to win first place by just a few more milliseconds! Plus, I think you should start running more, (Y/N).” Mina lands a gentle punch on your shoulder which makes you sigh. “Whatever, I’m just glad it’s over and my hard work paid off. Don’t give me all the credit though, Shoji did a good job along with Tsuyu.” 

You open the door to your classroom and spot Shinsou standing up by his desk, fixing his tie while Midoriya was talking to him from the side. “Oh right! Tokoyami will you be eating lunch with us?” You turn to your friend who was caught off guard. “Uh.. yeah, I guess..” he says shyly and turns the other way. 

“Why don’t you hand me your-“ he takes the briefcase that contained your suit from your hands gently, “I’ll return it for you.” You were taken aback and took a little longer to respond. You give him a small smile and bow your head, “you don’t have to, but thank you so much.” He walks away and that’s when you head back to your desk to retrieve your wallet. 

“You okay?” The deep voice startles you and causes you to jump and turn your attention to the taller figure. You let out a relieved breath and put your hand on your chest, “you scared me for a second.” Shinsou looks over your shoulder, “you’ve been looking troubled for some time now, did you lose something?” 

You let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of your head, “w-well.. not really, but kind of? Maybe, I don’t know.” You check your pockets for the nth time and when you did one last inspection inside of your bag you just heaved a breath in defeat. Shinsou folds his arms on his chest and looks at you worriedly with a brow raised, “what did you lose this time?” 

You gave him a glare, “don’t make it sound like I lose things a lot! I just… misplace them. Maybe like what’s happening right now.” You take your seat down and sighed once again, “I can’t find my wallet…” you mumbled so he couldn’t hear, knowing what would happen if he knew you had lost something so important and valuable. 

“Come again?” He turned his body towards you so he can hear and see you better. “I lost my wallet.” You finally admit, hiding your face with your hands as you groaned, “maybe I thought I brought it with me but accidentally left it in my room.” He nodded, “maybe so. Look for is after school since the day is almost done anyway and I doubt you would’ve dropped it somewhere here. I’ll pay for your lunch.” 

You give him a guilty look but before you could respond he cuts you off completely, “I don’t care what you say, I’ll buy you something. I owe you one since you gave me your lunch the other day and ended up eating all of it.” You fold your arms before you and pouted lightly, “not like I can win against you any way.” 

You see Tokoyami approaching which makes you jolt up your seat, “Fumi is here.” You give him a smile and turn to Shinsou, “shall we go?” 

You start walking with Shinsou and Tokoyami and without even a thought, you just knew you had to carry most of the conversations. “Your team did pretty well, Toshi!” You turn your head to your friend who shrugged, his hands deep inside his pockets, “would’ve went better if it weren’t for Bakugou’s temper.” 

As usual, he still dislikes Bakugou. 

“You guys still did pretty good! I mean, you got the 3rd highest time!” He shrugged once again, “I mean I guess..” the conversation once again drops and you feel even more pressure than before. “I’ll go save us a table while you two buy food.” You wave them goodbye and leave them be, hoping they’d at least conversate on their own without you. 

The two boys watch you fast walk away through the crowd and make your way towards a vacant table. They look at each other and start walking together. “So…” Shinsou lets out and immediately he regrets it since Tokoyami ended up saying the same thing at the same time. 

“Wait, she’s not buying food?” Tokoyami turns his head towards your direction and Shinsou shakes his head in response. “She forgot her wallet at home so I’m paying for her.” He nods, “you two must be close since I assume you know what her order is without even asking her.” Shinsou doesn’t notice but a faint smile crept on the corner of his lips, “I guess so.” 

The line didn’t seem to get shorter so they start talking more. “How did you two meet?” Tokoyami looks interested and Shinsou noticed that. It wasn’t the fake kind of look he’s familiar with which somewhat relieved him in a way? “I’ve known her since middle school. We weren’t friends or anything though we were just classmates.” 

“So you two only got close last year?” Shinsou nodded his head, “yeah, I didn’t expect it to happen to be honest. I came here in hopes of not making any personal connections and was going to focus on trying to get into the hero course but…” he laughs gently, “I guess you can see how that plan turned out.” Tokoyami smiles lightly and nods, “I guess so.” 

You were looking at them and observing them from the distance. Though it was difficult since it was still pretty crowded, you managed to get a quick peek and saw them both smiling warmly. 

Around 10 more minutes have passed and you were pretty much almost sleeping on the table until you saw Dark Shadow holding a tray. You give them both a smile before they settle beside you. Dark Shadow places the tray down in front of you before getting sent back into Tokoyami’s body. 

You look down on the food and your smile grew even wider, “you knew!” You look at Shinsou with bright and happy eyes while he just gently hits your head with a fist, “don’t forget your wallet next time.” He scolds you but you shrug it off like how you normally do before clasping your hands together. “Itadakimasu.” You all said in sync and start chowing down. 

You don’t know what they were talking about, but for sure the air seemed lighter than before. Not only that but it seemed like they had gotten along with each other a lot more. You were more than happy. 

“I’ll put the trays back.” Tokoyami gets up from his seat and collects everyone’s trays, walking away on his own and leaves you and Shinsou alone. Once the coast was clear you lean over to the male and whisper, “what happened why are you two suddenly closer than this morning? You two haven’t been pulling a prank on me, have you?” Shinsou rolled his eyes at you, “it’s nothing like that. We just… learned that we have a lot more in common.” 

You gasped and smiled, “that’s good news! I knew you two would like each other.” You laughed. “We should probably get going, lunch ends in a few minutes.” Tokoyami says and gestures to the clock. You and Shinsou get up and the three of you start heading back to your classrooms. 

* * *

You started noticing that Tokoyami and Shinsou started spending a lot more time together in just a few days. Their short greetings to one another have turned to conversations and they even walk together sometimes. It was a good sight to see. Not only that but there were times when the three of you would walk together and hangout. It shocked you a lot when you found them hanging out together alone in the common area for the first time. 

It seemed like they were talking about cats and it was Shinsou doing most of the conversation (not surprised) while Tokoyami listened and also joined in since he was too a cat lover. 

It was always funny how open Shinsou becomes whenever he meets another fellow cat lover. He might be all tough and stoic at first but the moment he finds out you love cats or animals, he’s a completely different person. That was one of the things that shocked you upon getting to know him last year. 

Shinsou takes his seat beside Tokoyami and hands him a bottle of water. Tokoyami takes it before opening it, chugging it down his system. The two had just finished training by themselves and have decided to finally end it. It was actually Tokoyami who suggested it since he wanted to know if Shinsou’s Quirk could work on Dark Shadow. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and only worked on Tokoyami. 

The silence between them gets cutoff by Tokoyami’s phone. He fishes it out from his bag and checks who had given him a text. 

Shinsou pulls the bottle away from his lips and swallows, “whose it from?” Tokoyami lets out a chuckle and shook his head lightly before showing his phone to him, making Shinsou squint his eyes slightly to read the message. 

_**(Y/N)** sent you a gif_

It was a gif of a kitten and a puppy playing together, the puppy biting lightly on the kitten’s ear. 

Shinsou couldn’t help but smile lightly, “of course.” Tokoyami pulls his phone away and starts typing you a reply. There was silence between them but it wasn’t the silence they experienced before. It was less suffocating and more… friendly? 

His purple eyes look at Tokoyami from the side and he noticed how much he was smiling, pressing send and turning his phone off after. Shinsou takes a deep breath and gulped, finally gathering his courage to say it to his face. 

“Tokoyami,” the bird looks at Shinsou, “yes?” Shinsou puts the water bottle down in his hand and takes a deep breath, clasping his hands together. The longer he took to talk it made Tokoyami more and more anxious, not knowing what was happening. He thought he had just said or done something wrong to upset his new friend. Well, whatever it was, something serious was about to happen. 

“I’ve… misjudged you and I’m going to apologize.” He finally lets out. Tokoyami blinks a few more times, “why are you suddenly apologizing out of nowhere? You did nothing wrong and you’ve already apologized for your actions.” Shinsou shook his head, “it’s not like that. This is different this time.” Tokoyami quirks an invisible brow up, not knowing what he was implying. 

Shinsou takes a deep breath, “I know how much (Y/N) means to you and as her best friend, I’m granting you both my blessings.” 

The silence escalates to a different direction. This time it was for sure awkward since Tokoyami didn’t seem to be responding at all. That was until he started laughing, making Shinsou raise both of his brows in confusion, not knowing what he found funny. “Shinsou, what are you going on about? Blessings? I don’t get what you mean.” 

“Well.. don’t you want to date (Y/N)?” Tokoyami suddenly stops laughing and starts to shake his head violently, “oh god no- wait, I don’t mean it like that.” He takes a deep breath and finally continues, “(Y/N) is a wonderful person and all, but she’s just someone special to me- not in _that_ way of course.. She’s a friend and I want it to stay that way.” 

“I don’t really see her in that way.” Shinsou didn’t know what to say and for whatever reason he seemed… relieved? 

Shinsou leans back and exhales a breath, “crap, I’m sorry I misunderstood you.” Tokoyami shook his head, “it’s completely fine, but to be honest I thought you and (Y/N) would be dating. You planning on telling her about your feelings soon?” Shinsou raises a brow, “my… my feelings?” Tokoyami furrowed his non-existent brows at him, “yeah? Why do you sound so unsure?” He laughs. 

Tokoyami’s words don’t sink in until a little later, making Shinsou’s eyes widen as he shook his head, “oh, it’s not like that I swear! I don’t see (Y/N) in that way.” Tokoyami hums before pulling his knees close to his chest, “whatever man, but judging by the looks of it there’s definitely something there. Unless you two really are just friends.” 

He nods, “we’re just friends. Nothing’s really happening between us- not that I’m complaining!” Tokoyami starts to laugh, making Shinsou more flustered. “You really do act differently when (Y/N) is brought up in the conversation. If I had to be honest with you I was always intimidated by you since last year during the Sports Festival but ever since you become a classmate and I saw how you act towards her, I saw you differently. Not in a bad way of course.” 

“I can’t really say the same since I’ve only just gotten closer to (Y/N) but…” he shook his head, “forget about it. I’ll respect you two no matter what and that’s all that matters.” He glances at the time on his phone and gets up, “we should probably get going, huh. It’s about to be curfew.” 

Shinsou takes Tokoyami’s hand as he pulled him up, “yeah, we should.” 


	33. Home Sweet Home

The first semester had just ended which meant everyone had to go back to their homes until school started again. While you were packing your things someone knocked on your door. “Come in.” You say before getting up on your feet, looking around your room to see if you had left anything valuable behind. The door opens, “you ready?” Shinsou asked, his back hanging on his shoulder. 

You nodded and picked your bag up, “yeah, just finished.” The two of you leave your room and you locked it using a key that Aizawa lent everyone. You both walked down the steps and almost everyone had left. Some decided to leave yesterday while you and Shinsou wanted to stay a day longer to visit the cats inside the campus before going back home. “See you all soon!” You waved your classmates goodbye and walked out of the house, Shinsou following you behind.

“Should we take a detour somewhere?” He asks. You heaved a breath and smiled lightly, “how many detours do you plan on us taking?” Shinsou shrugged his shoulders, “I wouldn’t mind crashing at your place either, it all depends on you.” You sighed, slouching forward slightly as you let out a whine, “mom has been texting me non-stop asking when do you plan on visiting again. I’m convinced she likes and misses you more than her own daughter.”

Your words make Shinsou laugh, burying his hands inside his pockets, “my mom is doing the same as yours. Maybe we should switch moms at this point.” You smiled widely and turn your head to look at him, “your mom misses me?!” Shinsou nods slowly and shrugs, “judging from the amount of questions she’s asking me about you I guess you could say that.” 

It was almost lunchtime and so you decided to let Shinsou come over at your place since his mother won’t be home until dinner. You open the door to your home and was right away greeted by your mother who had been waiting by the living room this whole time. “(Y/N)!” Your mom calls out before pulling you into a hug. Her eyes land on Shinsou who gives your mother a bow, greeting her. “You’re respectful as ever, Hitoshi.” 

Your mother looks back at you and gasped, “you’ve lost so much weight! Have you been skipping meals again?” She starts to scold you while you whined and groaned, “I didn’t, alright? I’ve been eating proper meals.” She turned her head to look at Shinsou who seemed to be not impresses at your words as well. “You’re lying,” she gently lands her fists on your head before making her way to the kitchen.

“Ow,” you rubbed the part she hit while Shinsou was snickering silently. “You’re really annoying I hope you know that.” You both went inside your room and just by standing by the door you can tell someone has been inside your room at least more than 5 times. You heaved a breath, “monkeys.” You referred to your brothers.

Shinsou places his bag down by your bed before taking his seat, “you can really tell?” You nodded with a sigh, “I left this place with a clean and tidy room, of course I can tell when a man has entered my territory.” 

“Your room hasn’t changed one bit..” he looks around until his eyes stop at a certain picture frame on your bedside table. He takes the frame and looks closely at it. It was a photo of you and your classmates on your first year together with Aizawa standing by the side. You weren’t lying when you said that U.A. had changed your life completely. He looks over to your desk where you used to do your homework and his eyes widened at something. He gets up from the bed and walks over there, taking the photo and looks at it. You were too busy unpacking your things until he calls your name.

You look over to him and hummed. Shinsou shows you the photo of the two of you that you both took in that photo booth last year from the Festival, “you still have it?” You nodded slowly, “why wouldn’t I?” He looks down at it and smiled lightly, remembering the argument you both had on who would take it home. 

He shook his head, “knowing you I thought you would’ve lost it.” He says before putting it back down to where he had originally found it while you yell at him in the background.

* * *

“Itadakimasu.” You all said before eating the meal your mom made. “You two have gotten so much skinner in just a few months. Especially you (Y/N).” You heaved a breath, “I’ve just been working harder a lot! Especially with the workout Miss Midnight recommended to me.” 

“You’re still not quite good in running.” Shinsou mumbles so only you can hear, resulting you to kick his shin under the table as you give him a glare from the side. “I’m glad you two seem to be closer than before.” She sighed, “I was worried you two were going to get distant, but I should’ve known that wasn’t possible between the two of you.” There was a pause until your mom continues rambling.

You take the dishes from Shinsou, “I’ll do the dishes, go rest.” Before he could argue with you your mom calls him from the living room. Shinsou looks at you before making his way to where your mother was. “Would you mind giving me a hand?” She gestured to the garbage bags beside her.

“We’ll be back in just a few minutes, (Y/N).” Your mother announces, closing the door behind her and starts walking to the recycling area with Shinsou. “You’re too kind, Hitoshi.” She says to him who was carrying most of everything. He shook his head, “it’s the least I can do, mrs. (L/N).” 

“You know, I have always been worried about (Y/N). You’re her closest friend so I’m sure you know about her Quirk.” Shinsou was caught off guard by the sudden topic but nods, “yeah, yeah I do.” Your mother sighs with a small smile on the corners of her lips, “I’m glad she met you.” 

Shinsou almost froze when those words left her lips. He just looks at her with wide eyes and raised brows. She giggled, “to tell you the truth I know it sounds bad especially since it sounds like I lost all hope on my daughter but… I really didn’t think I could see her smile again. But now she’s smiling brightly like how she used to- even more now that I think about it.” 

There was a pained feeling inside of Shinsou’s chest that he couldn’t quite explain, but hearing your mother’s words made him feel all types of things. “She used to stay in bed and inside of her room all day and night, refusing to leave. She even skipped meals and I’m sure she wasn’t getting any sleep either.” She takes a deep breath and exhales, “so when I heard about her getting accepted to U.A., I was quite worried and excited for her.”

Your mother starts to laugh, “looking back at how worried I was, I was worrying for nothing. I’ve never seen her this happy in years and… I can tell one of the reasons is you, Hitoshi.” He shook his head sheepishly, “I did nothing special, mrs. (L/N), I was just there to be for her as a friend.”

“Did she make an impact in your life as well?” Shinsou’s eyes go wide before averting them elsewhere. “You can say that…” he smiles softly, hiding the pink tints on his cheeks by looking the other way. The two made it and start to put the bags in their respected areas. “If you and (Y/N) were dating, I’d want her to marry you immediately.”

His eyes managed to get even wider, head completely flushed, “why are you suddenly talking about marriage, mrs. (L/N)?” She notices his reaction and the change of the tone in his voice making her giggle, “I’m just saying you two complement each other. Though you two are nothing more than friends, I’m just saying that if you and (Y/N) were to get married-“

“Y-Yes… yes… I get it..” he was no longer trying to hide the embarrassment in his voice while your mother continues to tease the poor boy more.

* * *

“We’re back,” Your mother announces while Shinsou closes the door behind him. You walk over to the entrance, “you guys took longer than 10 minutes, what happened?” She sighs, “that’s none of your business, (Y/N). Hitoshi and I just got so into our conversation we lost track of time.”

You glare at your mother before turning to Shinsou who wasn’t budging either. You heaved a breath, “whatever. I’m walking Shinsou to his place.” She looks at Shinsou with saddened eyes, “he’s leaving already? Why don’t you stay for dinn-“ 

“Mom, Toshi has stayed here long enough.” 

You walk out of the house with Shinsou. You placed your hands deep inside your pockets and exhales a breath, “I’m telling you she likes you more than me now.” You pout and kick the air while Shinsou playfully rolled his eyes at you. “I didn’t even stay for that long, do you miss my cats that much?” 

You froze and let out a nervous laugh, “no????? I just thought that you missed your home and decided to walk you there earlier than we planned.” You fold your arms on your chest. “Whatever you say.” You two walked alongside one another and while on your way to his house you had bumped into a few familiar faces that used to greet you when you still stayed at home.

“You’re quite the popular one, aren’t you?” Shinsou teases which makes your roll your eyes at him, “it’s not like I know them personally. They’re just neighbors I happen to bump into a lot.” You replied with your hands behind your back. “Also don’t act like you didn’t hear me at home. What were you and mom talking about that took you so long to come back?”

He sighed, “she just asked how you were doing, that’s all. Asked if you skipped your meals, sleep well, all that mom stuff.” You slump forward exhaling a breath, “she’s embarrassing.” Shinsou shrugged his shoulders, “it’s quite alright. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a mom like yours.” You look over at him and remembered how distant him and his mom were since she’s usually busy working and doesn’t even come home some times.

“Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t mean anything behind that.” You couldn’t help but pout at him, “does little Toshi need a hug?” You teased but quickly backfired when he placed his hand on top of your head, “sorry can you come again? I couldn’t quite hear you.” You attempt to land a karate chop on his side but his hand got a hold of your wrist before you could land a hit, grinning at you.

You two finally made it to his place and it was all the same. Unlike your place that seemed to be full of life and it was clear that it was being lived in, his was the complete opposite. Shinsou takes out a key from his pocket and shoves it inside the keyhole, the door clicks and he opens it. It was dark and it seemed like no one was living here at all. 

From the moment you enter you can hear bells jingling down the hall. You smile widely when you noticed where it was coming from but your eyes widen. Shinsou looks over to you after he finished taking his shoes off and seemed as shocked as you were. “T-Toshi…” you said as you rub Snow’s back and as soon as she felt your touch she quickly laid back on her side and purred softly with her eyes shut while Haru was rubbing their body against Shinsou’s leg.

“What the….” Shinsou puts his bag down and picks Haru up, almost struggling. “You two gained like 20 pounds-“ he says before putting the cat back down. You tried to pick Snow up and though her legs haven’t left the ground yet, you were already struggling greatly. He sighs and takes his phone out, “I told her to send them to my neighbor, not keep them here.” Shinsou was typing a message on his phone and while he was trying to get in touch with his mom you looked around the house more.

From your peripheral vision, you saw that their bowls were all clean and spotless. “You don’t think…. your mom….” Shinsou shoves his phone back inside his pocket and heaves another long breath, “she filled their bowls up and left them here until they were empty? Yeah, she did.” You can see the frustration in his voice and it personally made you feel bad. 

“I told her she didn’t have to keep them here since she’s always busy and doesn’t even come home most of the time. Cats need all the love and attention they need and she just-“ you placed your hand on his shoulder, “it’s okay, it’s okay.” He takes a deep breath to calm down. “I’m sure she was just trying to seem responsible to you.” 

“I don’t need her being something she isn’t. I prefer if she were more considerate about me and my cats’ feelings.” You couldn’t help but let out a short laugh, feeling like shit the moment it came out of your lips. “Crap I’m sorry I didn’t mean to laugh- I just…” you giggled, “I find it admirable how much you love and care about your cats. It’s… heartwarming.” 

“Because animals have feelings of their own too. Now it’s going to be a pain in the ass to get these two to lose weight. Especially Snow.” You hummed, “maybe I can help?” He looks at you with a raised brow, “are you sure about that?” You nodded without hesitation, “of course! That just means I get to spend more time with your cats and-“ you cleared your throat and looked the other way, “it’d be good for me to work on my running too.” 

He furrowed his brows, “what’s with the sudden motivation?” You inhaled, “well you did mention it a month ago that I’m still not quite the best at running and I want to change that. If I want to be the best hero out there, I need to overcome all of my weaknesses!” You said with determination in your eyes. He looks at you in shock and nods slowly, “I can help you with that.”

You smiled, “really?” He nods again, “it wouldn’t hurt to help.” 

“Thank you, Toshi!”

* * *

You had ended up staying at Shinsou’s place longer than you planned. You were literally passed out on his couch snoring soundly while he had just finished unpacking all his things. He walked out of his room with a blanket on his side before placing it on you, trying not to wake you as you were snuggled up with Haru under the covers. 

Without thinking, he takes a photo of you and looks at the outcome, smiling softly at the image on his device. The door opens which snaps him out of his thoughts. A figure walks in and it was his mother. “Hitoshi-“ he hushes his mom and points to you sleeping. 

His mom nods and Shinsou walked out of the living room to greet his mother. “Before you yell at me, I would like to apologize-“ he shook his head, “it’s completely fine. I’ll let this slide this time but next time you better send them over to mrs. Yato.” His mother gives him a sad look, “don’t be like that, Hitoshi.” 

Shinsou looked over to the bags his mom put on the countertops. “What are those for?” She hums and walks over to them, “I was planning on cooking you a meal but you ended up coming here earlier than you texted me so I rushed and got takeout.” She heaved a breath, “you should’ve told me (Y/N) was over, I would’ve gotten three.” 

“It’s fine, she’ll be eating dinner at her house.” She raised her brows, “how come?” Shinsou shoved his hands inside his pockets and shrugged his shoulders lightly, “it’s our first day back and I’d prefer it if she spent more time with her family since they’ve been dying to meet her again.” His mother smiles, “can you ask her to come and eat dinner here in the future? I’d love to spend more time with her.”

He sighs, “you’re going to end up embarrassing me again so I’d rather not.” He folded his arms on his chest. Before his mother could reply there was a loud hiss coming from the living room followed with a yell. Shinsou panics and quickly runs to where you were. “(Y/N)?!”

Shinsou stopped his tracks when he saw you on the ground all tangled up in a blanket with a wide smile on your lips. He makes his way over to you and wipes the trail of blood off from the bridge of your nose, “crap you’re bleeding.” You didn’t even notice until he wiped it with his finger. 

“It’s fine! I don’t feel any pain at all. It’s just a small scratch, nothing to worry about.” You let out a laugh as you rub the back of your head while your other hand was on the ground, keeping you balanced. “Did Haru just scratch you in your sleep?” He asked and makes his way to a drawer nearby, taking out a first aid kit. 

He gets down beside you and starts treating you. You laughed nervously, “I had Haru in my arms until she moved and almost fell off but when I tried catching her, I accidentally had my hands on the wrong places and maybe I held onto her a little too tight so she scratched me.” 

Shinsou applies ointment on your cut after cleaning it off. You hissed in pain, “it hurts~” you whined, wincing in pain as he sighs, “quit moving and whining, the faster I get this done the faster the pain will stop.” 

All of this happened while his mother was observing you two by the side. She smiled softly to herself, _“you’ve really grown up, Hitoshi.”_

* * *

“God you’re making it sound like Haru got my eye and I’m suddenly incapable of walking myself home. I’m fine, alright? It’s just a scratch for the millionth time.” He sighed, “what if you trip on a root and your cut worsens?” You playfully rolled your eyes at him, “now you’re just doing this on purpose. I’ll be fine, this isn’t the first time I’m walking home alone.” 

Shinsou finally gives up, shaking his head, “if you’re going to walk back home this late, take my bike with you. You can return it when you come back here.” You nodded, “if that’ll calm you down then fine.” You make your way to his bike and took it.

“Don’t leave yet.” He says before heading back inside. You groaned, “oh my god if I needed a mom you’d be perfect for the role.” You giggled but stopped once his mom walked out the door and is now alone with you. You bow, “I’ll be off now, mrs. Shinsou.” She smiled lightly at you, “you don’t have to be so respectful all the time.”

“I hope you don’t mind but do you mind coming over for dinner next time? I would love to get to know you better.” You give her a bright smile and nod, “of course!” She smiles back at you but her eyes were filled with sadness. “Before Hitoshi comes back I’d also like for you to promise me something.”

You gulped, getting worried and anxious for what she was about to say.

“Promise me that you’ll always be there for Hitoshi and you’ll never leave his side.” 

You looked at her in shock, mind completely going blank. “Here. Just in case it rains on your way back home.” He puts the small umbrella inside the basket of his bike. You couldn’t help but chuckle, “now you’re going overboard. My house is like 5 minutes away with a bike.” 

“I don’t want to hear it.” You playfully roll your eyes at him, “whatever you say, _mom_.” You teased him and got on the bike. Before you could pedal away you lock eyes with his mother. You give her a nod and an assuring smile, “don’t worry about it, mrs. Shinsou. I plan on doing so anyway.” Just when Shinsou was about to ask you what you meant you start cycling away, “I’ll text you when I arrive home safely.” You say and finally left.

He put his hand down that was waving and turned to his mother, “what did she mean by that?” She smiled softly at her son, ruffling his hair, “I just told her to get better soon. Now come on, our dinner’s getting cold.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been writing much longer chapters than i used to !! ^^ will be updating a lot more than i used to since my laptop is finally fixed :> thank you for being patient with updates <33 i'll try to keep it more exciting and interesting for everyone
> 
> as usual, comments and kudos are more than appreciated !!


	34. Walk to the Park

Shinsou waited for you outside while you were still putting your shoes on. He looked up the sky and closes an eye, direct sunlight landing on his purple orbs. “I’m done.” You said as you stepped out of his house and closed the door behind you. He nods and hands you one of the leaches he was holding on, “don’t pretend I didn’t warn you if you end up regretting this.”

You take the leash he was offering and scoffed, “and I’m telling you that I won’t regret this at all.” You look down and saw the two cats all plopped down on the grass looking like loaves of bread making you laugh, “I didn’t expect you to be the type of person to tie your cats up with a leash. Expected you to be the freedom type of pet owner.” You let out as you gave Snow a pet. 

He heaved a breath, “believe me I hate putting them on leashes too but this is the only way I can ensure that they’ll walk with us without walking back home. Luckily it wasn’t too hard capturing them since they aren’t as fast as they used to.” You got back up on your feet and faced him, “where are we heading anyway?”

Shinsou buries his hand inside one of his pockets while the other one was still holding onto a leash, “the park. It’s not too far from here and we’ll just walk a couple of laps and call it a day since I’m sure they still won’t be used to this much exercise just yet.” He says and Haru responds with a sad meow.

“I know, Haru. You don’t need to tell me twice.” You looked at the two of them with slightly widen eyes, not knowing what they were talking about. “Alright, let’s go then shall we?” You took the first step and almost got sent back since Snow was still seated on the ground.

Shinsou places his hand on your back before you could fall back, “be careful.” He says and takes something out in his pocket, “I knew this would happen.” He took out a few pellets and the moment the cats saw what he was holding, they stood up at the same time as if they were hypnotized.

You gasped silently, “amazing…” Shinsou hands you a few, “that’ll do the trick for now.” The four of you started your walk to the park which was just a few blocks from U.A. actually. You and Shinsou have gotten a few looks from people and some even came by to talk to you both about the cats you were walking, giving them pets as well. 

You looked over to Shinsou and as usual, he doesn’t mind talking to people when it comes to cats. Especially when it’s _his_. People have asked the same questions like, “what are their names?” “Where are you two off to?” And even wished the two of you good luck on making the cats lose weight.

“You seem awfully happy today.” Shinsou says which makes you giggle, “I mean, why wouldn’t I be? The weather is nice, it’s not too warm or cold, and I’m spending my break with the cutest little things.” He nods but before he could agree to you, a smirk suddenly crept on the corner of your lips and you spoke before he could, “and the cats too, I guess.” 

Shinsou stopped his tracks with widen eyes but before he could say anything else you suddenly start running with Snow, “let’s go to the park faster so I can give you your reward!” You tell the white cat and laughed loudly, leaving Shinsou and Haru behind. 

He watches you walk off and felt his face slowly flushing. Haru meows from below which makes him snap out of it. “Right, right, sorry about that.” Shinsou and Haru then start running the same direction as you did. 

They arrived to the park and you and Snow were already seated on a bench. You were giving her a few treats and giving her rubs all over, smiling widely as she purrs to your touch. “You really are a spoiled princess, huh.” She meows to your words without a hesitation.

“She’s more spoiled than Haru. A complete brat too.” Snow hisses at Shinsou before retracting to her old position, asking for more pets from you. You laughed lightly, “she really is something.” Haru struggles to get up on the bench and Shinsou notices, helping her up. 

Haru then walked over to you and rubbed her body against your side, making you tense up, “th-that tickles!” You said with a giggle, giving Haru some pets as well. Shinsou who was standing behind the bench just sighed with his arms folded on his chest, “you’re spoiling them too much. They should be exercising right now.” 

You stuck your tongue out, “wouldn’t hurt, would it? Judging from how they were acting a while ago, if we don’t take a short break to reward them, I’m sure they’d just get tired of walking with us completely.” He thinks for a while and nods, “you’re right.” 

Shinsou takes the vacant spot beside you and leans back. He chuckles shortly after, making you turn your attention to him. “Whenever you’re around me I can’t seem to be my usual strict self. This is where I finally tell you that you’re a bad influence.” You laughed at his remarks, “you’re making it sound like I’m the irresponsible parent here.” He raised a brow at you, “you’re not?”

You gently punched him on his shoulder resulting him to laugh as well. “It’s like the other day too. When we went to my house for the first time in months and found Haru and Snow like this- if you weren’t there I would’ve blown a fuse on my mother.” 

“I’m sure she was just trying. Sure, it didn’t go well as planned- but there was an attempt.” He looks at you with his usual half lidded eyes, “I wonder how you’re going to survive the world one day being this understanding and nice to everyone around you.” He sighed, “but it’s not like I’m complaining. The world needs more people like you, even I have to admit that.”

You look at him with raised brows. Shinsou suddenly turned his body to face yours and gently flicks a finger to your forehead, “and don’t think I forgot what you told me just a few minutes ago. I don’t want to be called little especially from you.” He gives you a glare before getting up.

“Break’s over, time to do laps.” The two cats that were all rubbed against you gave him hisses while you laughed nervously. Shinsou sighed, “if you two finish in less than 30 minutes, tonight’s dinner will be chicken.” The moment they heard the c word, their ears both perk up and the two felines jumped down the bench.

Shinsou and Haru were already off and Snow was practically pulling on you using the leash. “C-Calm down!” You finally got up and hurried. It felt as if Snow was now the one walking you; she was more active than before-

After fifteen minutes you were practically dying on a bench, panting heavily as you tried to catch your breath while Shinsou had just finished his last lap with Haru. He looked over at you with pity, “you look like you were ran over.” You gave him a glare, “not fucking funny, Hitoshi.” 

He grinned and takes the spot beside you, “guess you’re the cat now and Snow is the one walking you.” You leaned your head back and heaved a deep breath, “I didn’t think she had it in her to run that fast. Just a few minutes ago she wouldn’t even get up from the grass.” You were still out of breath even though you’ve been sitting there for almost 2 minutes now.

Shinsou bends over and releases the two cats, taking their leashes off before sitting up straight. The two of you were now just watching the two cats walk around the park freely until the two decided to take over a bench not far from the one you were sitting on. 

He suddenly lets out a laugh, “still can’t believe you were outrun by an overweight cat.” You forced out a laugh and glared daggers at him once again, “it’s so funny, I can’t seem to laugh properly!” You pouted and folded your arms on your chest. Shinsou suddenly feels bad and turned to face you, “if it’ll make you feel better, why don’t we try hiking next time?”

You looked at him with furrowed brows, “you saw what happened just now- I can barely keep up with Snow at a park what more in a mountainous area? At this point I feel like you just want me off a cliff.” Shinsou smiled softly but shook his head, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant,” he hummed and turned his gaze away, “maybe just the two of us? Or we could invite some people if they’re willing to.” 

“I’m fine with any since you do want to improve your running and I believe if you start practicing hiking, it’ll make you quicker on flat areas once you’ve gotten used to your speed.” You looked at him with shock, “you’d really go hiking just to help me?” 

He shrugged, “someone has to make sure you don’t trip on air and slip to your death.” You pout at him once again which makes him laugh, “I mean, I am your _cutest little thing_.” You looked at him with wide eyes while he looks smug, raising a brow at you, “where’d your cockiness go? Did Snow snatch it away from you perhaps?” 

You failed to hide your smile, “your reaction when I said that was priceless. Plus, you were only bothered about the word little, weren’t you? You didn’t say anything about cute.” You laughed loudly when his reaction turned a whole 180. He takes a deep breath and sighed, hiding the upper half of his face with his hand, “what made you suddenly want to say that?” 

You leaned back and shrugged, “I saw a movie last night and the main character said that to his crush and I wanted to see how you’d react. I don’t regret it one bit.” You laughed once again. Shinsou sighed, “you’re really testing my patience, aren’t you?” 

You hummed, “maybe?” He nods his head as a smirk crept on the corner of his lips, “if you’re going to play that game then I might as well call you kitty now that it seems like Snow is the one walking you with a leash.” 

Every drop of confidence you had was now thrown out the window, your face completely flushed as you tried to think of a comeback but instead started tripping over your words like no tomorrow. Shinsou chuckled and quirked a brow at you, “what? Think you’re the only one who can be smooth?” 

He gets up from the bench, “let’s go back home. Judging from the way those two are looking at us it’s safe to say that they’re tired of waiting.” You nodded and got up as well, “I’ll let you win this round.” Shinsou playfully rolled his eyes at you, “I always win and you know that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments are appreciated <3


	35. Hiking Trip Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was waaayy longer than i thought it would be so i decided to split it into two parts

“Are you okay with leaving your mom alone with your cats? I mean, I respect your decision no matter what but I just want to make sure-” he heaves a breath, “yes, don’t worry too much alright.” You shrugged your shoulders and looked the other way, “can you blame me? You looked like you were about to strangle someone when you first saw Haru and Snow.”

“I’m just making sure that you’re going to be alright.” Shinsou leans his head back slightly, “you’re the one that lectured me all night that I should give my mom another chance and now you’re asking if I’m sure about my decision?” 

You nodded with a slight shrug, “well yeah. I’m glad you did though, I’m sure she was happy when you asked her to. Though I didn’t expect the hiking trip to happen in just 2 days after you mentioned it for the first time. Hell, you didn’t even tell me until yesterday evening.”

“I did some research and found out today is the only perfect day to go. I checked the weather forecast and it’ll be raining all week after today.” You sighed, “so that’s why you rushed it. But Toshi,” he stopped his tracks when you did, taking out your phone and showed him the time, “it’s… 6AM. Don’t you think that’s a bit overkill?” 

Shinsou placed his hands on the back of his neck, “seems alright to me, you’re wide awake now, aren’t you?” You gave him a slight glare, “that’s not the point.” An automated voice through the speakers of the station announces that the next train will be arriving soon. “Well it does take a while to travel. So, I thought why not go all out today and hike up one of the tallest mountains near here.”

You looked at him with wide eyes, “one of the tallest WHAT-” the train arrives and the doors open. There weren’t much people entering, but there were still people. You and Shinsou sat down and he took out his phone, showing you the place you two were heading. 

“Are you trying to kill me-” he puts his phone away while you hugged onto your backpack tightly which was now resting on your lap. “You want to improve running, don’t you?” You felt your eye twitching, clearly, he was doing this to tease and annoying you, but at the same time you were kind of grateful. 

“I did my research and I found out that it usually takes people the whole day to climb up and down from it so this will be an adventure. Of course, we will be taking short breaks here and there.” You felt yourself sliding down your seat as he continued to ramble about his research. “Don’t worry too much about everything, all you need to worry about is keeping those legs of yours moving.” 

The more he talked the more you were regretting your decisions. Sure, you want to improve running more than anything but you’d rather sleep in and stay at home than go up and down a mountain. It intimidated you more since Shinsou trains with Aizawa- _sensei_ and he isn’t quite the most… easy. 

While Shinsou was rambling on and on, a grumbling sound that came from your stomach cuts him off. “I completely forgot about breakfast-” your eyes quickly widened, “are you serious-” he nods his head slowly, “I mean, I don’t really eat breakfast so…” he looked through his phone once again and turns it off, “there’s a convenience store near the stop we’ll be dropping off at.”

 _“This is going to be a disaster.”_ You thought.

After 2 stops, it was finally time for you and Shinsou to leave. The door opens and you two walk right out. “The bus doesn’t arrive in 10 minutes so let’s head to the convenience store.” You follow Shinsou behind and looked around. You haven’t been out in so long apart from your town so everything feels all brand new to you.

Shinsou opens the door for you and you enter. You walked over to the sandwich aisle and although you really wanted to eat a rice meal, you just couldn’t right now since it’ll be such a hassle bringing it around while eating. You looked through it and took a quick glance at Shinsou who was too busy scrolling through his phone.

You decided to take four and headed over to the cashier, handing the worker money before placing the extra 2 sandwiches inside of your bag. You walk over to Shinsou and hand him one of the sandwiches you were holding. “It’s tuna.” You said before he asks. 

You two walk out of the store, walking over to the bus stop not far from it. Shinsou took a bite from the sandwich and he couldn’t help but feel somewhat flattered that you remembered he liked tuna. He has never had a close friend like you so he tends to forget how much you know him and how much he knows you.

“How many stops ‘til we arrive?” You asked, wiping the corner of your lip with a tissue. “Around 5 so it’ll take a while.” The bus arrives and it was time to get on. The two of you swiped your transportation cards in the machine before entering. You took the window seat like usual and Shinsou takes the one beside you. “You really prepared a lot.” You said with your eyes focused out of the window. 

“Which is why you better not disappoint me and do well today.” You huffed as a timid smile crept on the corners of your lips, “now you’re really pressuring me.” Shinsou looked down on his watch to check the time, “I just want to make sure you improve and get home safe and sound. Your mother did ensure me with your safety.” 

You scoffed, “man you’re really intimidated by my mom.” He shrugged his shoulders lightly, “I don’t know... I mean, she is your mom and I don’t want her to break her trust with me. It’d be bad if something were to happen to you and it’ll be my fault.” 

Your smile drops as you looked at the sadden expression on his face. “Toshi, you shouldn’t be pressur-” the bus suddenly stops and the doors open. “So please trust me.” Yeah you were close with Shinsou and you know him more than anyone else, but there are still times where you’re not sure about what he’s thinking about. 

You rest your arm on the window before letting your cheek rest on the palm of your hand, nodding your head weakly. You thought everything was fine but the more you looked at Shinsou the more worried you were getting. He’s not necessarily a technology person and only really uses his phone when he has nothing better to do or for communication purposes so it’s a complete shocker to you to see him on his phone for most of the trip. 

While getting lost in your thoughts, you failed to notice your eyes slowly starting to shut. 

“You can sleep on my shoulder if you want. Your head and neck are going to hurt if you use the window shield.” You shook your head and scoffed it off, “I’ll be fine. I’m not really sleepy anyway.” You said but after just a minute or so you were already passed out cold with your head resting on your hand. 

Shinsou didn’t notice until he felt your head suddenly drop on his shoulder. He looks over and saw that you were knocked out cold. He chuckles softly and shook his head at you before putting his phone inside of his pocket, taking a bite from his sandwich while you snored lightly on him. 

You two ended up meeting up early in the morning at your place. As usual Shinsou wasn’t fazed by how early the morning was while you were completely affected by it. You did some stretches to wake yourself up slightly and it did work until you felt comfortable on the bus. 

You felt a gentle nudge making you jolt up. “We’re here.” Shinsou says and gets up, taking his things. You nodded and followed him after, hopping off the bus to some place you’ve never seen before. It was a much smaller town and more… peaceful? 

“It’s almost lunchtime soon, do you want to have an early lunch or eat later?” You shrugged your shoulders, “I’m more worried about you since you didn’t get to eat much.” Shinsou sighed, “we both ate the same amount for breakfast but I guess you’re right.” 

“There’s a restaurant nearby why don’t we check it out? The worst thing that could happen today is you passing out due to exhaustion especially since we’ll be doing a lot of movement today.” He starts leading the way and you follow behind him. You kept looking around and admiring the scenery so much you ended up almost bumping into a few people.

“S-Sorry!” You bowed as they just laughed it off lightly and tell you it’s okay. “We’ve only taken a few steps and you’re already walking on two left feet.” You sighed, “well I’m sorry. It’s not like I can help it, I’ve never been here before.” Shinsou hummed as he looked up and down from his phone.

“It’s surprisingly not crowded like usual. To be fair it is still early in the morning.” While he was looking for the restaurant you started being more aware of the people passing by to save yourself from even more embarrassment. You’ve never really been at a countryside; maybe when you were a kid but your memory doesn’t really go that far. 

“We’re here.” You stopped your tracks and looked at the building in front of you. The two of you enter and sit at a vacant table. It wasn’t even close to lunchtime, but you were too hungry to care about it. The waiter spots your table and takes your orders before heading back to the kitchen.

You took out your phone and checked to see if you received any notifications from the past hours. After you’ve checked everything you decided to press on your camera app and sneakily took a photo of Shinsou with a cat filter on. Luckily, he didn’t catch you like he usually did since he was too busy eyeing his phone. You checked on the photo and giggled causing him to lift his head up.

“Did you see something funny?” You looked up from your phone and quickly shook your head at him, smiling, “nah I just thought of something.” Shinsou quirks a brow but shrugs your remarks right away. You couldn’t help but remember the first time he caught you taking a photo of him

_“But of all things why a cat filter? It looks… weird on me.” You looked at him and could’ve sworn he was pouting ever so slightly, “what? It looks cute on you, are you kidding?” He heaved a breath, “delete that.” Your eyes widened, “hell no, you look so good in this shot! I’m not letting his photo go to waste. Like what if you need it in the future?”_

_Shinsou folded his arms on his chest as he shook his head at you with another sigh, “why would I need a photo of myself with the cat filter on?” You couldn’t help but stick your tongue out at him, “you don’t know what the future awaits, Hitoshi.”_

_“Just don’t send that photo to anyone. Don’t even think about showing it.” He leaned his head back, “it’s embarrassing enough that it exists. What makes it worse is that you’re the one that has it.” You gasped dramatically, “you hurt me with your words.”_

_“Whatever, just don’t show anyone. If I hear about it from anyone, I’ll-” you laughed out loudly and smacked his back, “you’re too serious Toshi, you have my word for it. This photo stays with me and only me until we stop being friends. If we do then I’ll have no choice but to leak it.” You said as a joke but he didn’t seem too bothered by it. “That wouldn’t be a problem then.”_

You shove your phone back in your pocket and look over to him. “Why are you on your phone so much? I feel like you’re counting down every second.” Shinsou finally looked up from his device when you talked to him. That was something you always noticed about him. He didn’t need to, but whenever he’d use his phone and you’d talk to him, he’d turn all of his attention to you. You can’t tell if he does that to anyone else since, again, he’s not necessarily a phone type of person.

“I’m just checking a few things just to make sure everything is good.” You heaved a breath and rested your cheek on the palm of your hand, “yeah but… it’s like if you look away from your phone it’d explode and suddenly all of your data would vanish.” He looks at your and silence before finally turning his phone off completely, “sorry.”

Your eyes suddenly widened, “you don’t have to apologize! I was just asking what you were doing since you seem kind of stressed out right now.” You sighed and started drawing invisible circles on the wooden table, “you don’t talk or express much of your emotions, but I can almost see right through you.”

“You don’t really sleep much in general and judging by how rushed this trip was and how paranoid you’re being I’m guessing you did all of the research you could these past two nights.” You didn’t realize how much you’ve said until you noticed how quiet it was. Your eyes widened from your laxed expression as you held your hands up at him, shaking your head, “crap I didn’t mean to say all of that! I’m sorry,” 

He shook his head, “no, you’re right. I’m sorry for worrying you. Again.” You heaved a breath, “quit apologizing, I’m fine! You should worry about yourself more.” Shinsou takes a deep breath and exhales, “I think I’ve been doing that a little too much my whole life.” 

“It’s not a bad thing to think about others, but your health is just as important as the rest. So calm down and let’s just enjoy this trip.” You laughed. Shinsou chuckled, “great advice, but I don’t want to hear that from you, CEO of selflessness.” You let out a nervous laugh as you rubbed the back of your head, “touché.”

* * *

The start doing small jumps as you took deep breaths while Shinsou was at the side looking at you with a raised brow. “We’re not doing a race if that’s what you’re thinking.” You stopped and looked at him with a shrug, “wouldn’t hurt to stretch, would it?” 

Shinsou failed to hold in his laugh, “you’re taking this way too seriously. We’re just going for a hike.” You rolled your eyes at him, “do you know who you’re talking to?” He placed his hand on top of your head, “don’t overthink. Or else I’m leaving you behind.” And just like that he starts hiking without you.

“Asshole!” You yelled as you heard him laugh at you. You follow him behind and eventually caught up. “What was that for?” You asked him while he failed to hide that smug smile of his, “made you run didn’t it?” 

The two of you started hiking alongside one another until you’ve reached one of the checkpoints. While you were panting heavily, leaning over on your knees, Shinsou was beside you who didn’t seem too affected by it. “That training…. with Aizawa- _sensei_ …. really came in handy…. didn’t it?” You said in-between breaths. Shinsou takes a sip from his thermos and hands it to you, “drink up you’re going to need it.” 

You take it from his hand and take a sip, and from the moment you felt the cold water touch your lips it was like a drug. It felt like you haven’t drunk in decades so when Shinsou saw how much water you were practically inhaling he couldn’t help but be worried. “Were you that tired?” 

You scoffed and handed the almost empty thermos back to him, “I’ll be fine. We’re halfway done aren’t we?” Shinsou hummed as he closed his water bottle, putting it back inside his bag. “If you mean halfway as in halfway to the 3rd checkpoint then you’d be right.” 

You felt your legs tremble when those words left his lips. “Y-You’re kidding… right?” He shook his head hesitantly, “there’s… over 5 checkpoints and since we’ll be going up and down, that’s practically ten.” Before you could drop to the ground in defeat Shinsou gives you a slight assuring smile, “don’t worry though, going down will be much easier.”

“That’s still… so much moving.” You gave him a bright smile, “say, why don’t I use my Quirk-” he shook his head, “no.” You let out a groan which makes him sigh, “why do you think we had early lunch? There’s a restaurant on the 3rd checkpoint so you can go ahead and order anything if you’re parched.”

“If we want to go home early today then our breaks can only go for a few minutes. Are you ready?” You took your sit on a nearby bench and swat your him as if he were an insect, “go on and continue without me I’ll catch up. It’d be a waste of time to wait for me.”

Shinsou folds his arms on his chest, “that’s exactly what I’m worried about. Just the thought of you trying to catch up worries and scares me.” You whined, “that’s just mean.” He pats your back gently, “you can do it, just take deep breaths. We’ll take it slower this time.”

You shook your head, “no.” Shinsou raises a brow at you when you suddenly stood up. “If I want to be the greatest hero, I shouldn’t be whining and giving up so easily. It’s on!” Without a warning you start running on your own without Shinsou as he sat there in disbelief, trying to process what had just happened.

“Don’t go without me, idiot!” He yelled at you even know he knew you were too busy talking to yourself to even hear him. Shinsou takes his backpack and starts running after you. You had completely forgotten the point of hiking and ended up turning this into some sort of race with yourself. Since you were filled with too much determination, you didn’t really notice how tired you were getting. 

For about 10 minutes of non-stop running you arrived to the 2nd checkpoint by yourself. The moment you stopped running; your legs just automatically gave in causing you to wobble. A sudden strong grip on your forearm catches you off guard, making you look up to see who it was. 

“There’s a bench right there.” He says and starts helping you walk towards it. He sits you down and you heaved a relieved breath. “What were you thinking? You didn’t stop running at all. What did I tell you about overworking yourself?” His tone was filled with worry, his eyes filled with sadness and disappointment. You looked away from him and lowered your head, “I’m sorry.”

“We’re only in the 2nd checkpoint and you already pushed yourself too hard. What would’ve happened if your legs suddenly stopped while you were running and something terrible happened to you?” You didn’t respond and just kept your head down low avoiding Shinsou’s gaze. He takes a deep breath and sighs, “we did this to help with your stamina, not make it worse.”

He notices how defeated you look which makes him take his seat beside you on the bench. “We can stop here if you’re feeling tired and head back home when you’re finally feeling better. But if we continue to the next checkpoint up ‘til the 5th one, then you have to promise me that you won’t push yourself again, got it?”

You nod your head slowly. He takes a deep breath and lands a small and the weakest punch possible on your cheek, “don’t give me such a long face. We’re here to have fun too, didn’t we?” His little laugh was enough for you to finally smile. “That’s more like it. So sit tight while I go get some more water.”

You did as told and just sat there, your legs weakly swinging back and forth as you waited for his return. You paused when you heard a slight grumbling sound from the distance. You looked back and didn’t see anything weird or wrong so you just shrugged it off without a thought. It takes Shinsou a while so you decided to take your phone out. While scrolling through your phone you take out your water bottle and take a long sip. 

“You all rested up?” Shinsou asked. You nod your head and get up, putting your water bottle back inside your bag and start walking with him. You two continued to hike up to the 3rd checkpoint but decided to slow it down a little bit. It didn’t take that long to reach unlike the last one which was surprising.

The moment you two reached there he wasn’t lying when he said there was a café. “I’ll go order something, why don’t you look for a seat.” You nod your head and was about to take out your wallet until you noticed something else was missing. Shinsou noticed your sudden change of expression, “what’s wrong?” 

You stood up straight and start patting down your pockets and when you finally checked every pocket and zipper of your bag you knew exactly where it could’ve ended up at. “I left my phone on the bench we were on at the 2nd checkpoint. I’ll go get it.” 

“I’ll come with you then-” you shook your head at him, “I’ll just leave my bag with you. It won’t take long, I promise.” He gives you a worried look which makes you start walking backwards, “I won’t overwork myself like last time. It’s not that far anyway, I’ll be right back.” You give him one last reassuring look before you start running back leaving Shinsou. 

And just like you said, you ended up at the 2nd checkpoint in no time. Luckily no one had taken your phone when it was under the bench. You checked to see if it was yours and when you saw the same phone case and wallpaper you let out a relieved breath. You start double checking if you had accidentally left anything else and luckily it was just your phone.

Out of nowhere the grumbling from earlier was suddenly much stronger. “I better head back up there.” You said to yourself and start hiking back up. While running you happen to spot a group of kids who were hanging around by the edge.

“Guys she’s still following us.” One of the boys said as they all turned their heads to a girl that looked slightly younger than they were. “Kai isn’t that your sister? Tell her to go back home or something.” They nudge one of their friends who didn’t seem to pleased as well. 

Suddenly all of the boys start climbing down the rocks, leaving the girl behind. She puffs up and starts doing the same. It was then she takes her 2nd step down that causes her to slip and lose her balance. You saw it happen before your eyes which makes you start running faster. With lack of time to think and doing what felt like instincts, you jumped and reached your hand towards her.

* * *

Shinsou sat there all by himself as he waited patiently for you. Once 10 minutes have finally passed that was when he started to get more worried. He looks down at the food he had just spent money on. Though he knows it’s a waste since he hasn’t taken a bite of it yet, he actually bought it for you to eat since he knew it was your favorite.

But what would be the use if you weren’t there?

His patience snaps and he finally decides to just go back to check up on you just in case you were in trouble and needed some assistance. It was anything at this point since you didn’t have your phone with you to text or notify him what was happening. He steps out of the café and it starts to pour heavily with grumbles. 

“There’s a storm?” He looks around and you weren’t anywhere to be seen. He takes out the umbrella in his bag and starts running in the rain, “she doesn’t even have an umbrella with her since her bag is with me.” While running he kept checking around him to see if you were anywhere nearby. He eventually reached the 2nd checkpoint and heads over to the bench you sat at a while ago. 

Shinsou looks around and noticed your phone was nowhere to be seen. “Did she already take it?” He started having doubts on where you went since there wasn’t any shelter nearby apart from the café he was just at. Giving it the benefit of the doubt, he decides to head back to the café just in case you were in there and he didn’t see you.

While walking he passes by a group of kids who were all panicking and some were even crying. “What are we going to do?! They’re probably dead!” He overhears one of them say. Just when he was about to ask what was happening he accidentally steps on something that felt way too flat to be a rock. 

Shinsou looks down and his eyes widens. He takes the device in his hand and looks at it. He turned to the kids and walks towards them, wishing it wasn’t what he thought it was and this was just some big misunderstanding. “Kid,” he calls for one of them but they were too busy panicking to notice him.

He grabs them by their shoulder which causes them to jolt upward, “I SWEAR I’M NOT A KILLER, I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” He yelled loudly making Shinsou’s eyes widen. “What is happening here?” He asked. Shinsou turned his head to one of them who didn’t look too panicky like the rest.

“Kid, I need you to tell me what happened. Please.” Never in a million years did he think he would ever be begging a random kid for information. He wasn’t even sure what was happening and should be looking for you instead. The kid takes a deep and shaky breath in before saying the words he wished he never had to hear. 

“My sister slipped and a lady jumped in to save her.”


	36. Hiking Trip Part 2

You slowly opened your eyes, the ringing in your ears slowly start to fade as you sat up. You saw a little girl in front of you with a terrified expression written all over her face as tears were flowing down her cheeks uncontrollably. You gave her a smile, “are you okay?” 

Judging from her state and appearance, you managed to use your Quirk on her just in time before she fell into any of the rocks. You couldn’t say the same about you though. The girl nods as her shaky finger points to the side of your head. You raised a brow at her before touching the part she was pointing at, immediately regretting it. You looked down at your hand and noticed it was stained with blood.

“I’m okay so you don’t have to worry about me.” You tell her but she doesn’t seem to believe you one bit. You looked down at her hands and noticed that they were trembling. That was then when you realized it had been raining heavily this whole time. You slowly got on your feet and held out your hand for her to take, “let’s look for shelter for now.” She hesitates to take your hand but does so anyway.

Since it was raining heavily, it was much harder to see. The sun has vanished and it didn’t seem like the rain was going to stop any time soon. “What’s your name?” You try to break the silence in hopes for her to calm down. “Kita…” she mumbled enough for you to hear. You managed to find a little spot under a rock that was enough for you the two of you to fit in. 

Once you two settled in, elbows touching and all, you let out a small laugh, “that’s a beautiful name. My name is (Y/N), it’s nice to meet you, Kita.” She manages to smile back finally which put you at ease a little bit. “You don’t have to worry, okay? We’ll start heading back once the rain calms down a bit. You’ll get to reunite with your brother in no time.” Kita shakes her head making you raise a brow. She folds her knees and pulls them close to her chest, “He doesn’t want me around.”

Kita’s lips start to quiver making you wrap an arm around her shoulder to pull her close, “I’m sure he cares deeply about you, Kita. He must be looking everywhere for you as we speak.” When you said the last part that was when you remember about Shinsou. He was probably still waiting in the café for you and if not, he’s most likely looking for you in the rain. 

You try to check your pockets and just heaved a breath, still holding up a smile so you don’t worry the little girl. You just now realized that your phone wasn’t with you and probably fell somewhere when you were trying to save her. “Do you live here, Kita?” You continue to talk to her. She nods her little head, “my house is right around the corner from here.” You were relieved to hear that. Once the rain is all over you plan to look for her brother first just in case he’s out somewhere looking for her, but if not then you can just bring her to her house. 

“What about you, miss? Are you from here?” You shook your head at her question, “I came here with a friend to visit.” She frowns, “your friend must be looking for you. I’m jealous…” you hold onto her shoulders and squeezed on them gently, “your brother must be worried sick about you right now and looking for you. You can see him and your family again once this is over.” The grumbling noises from earlier have turned more loud and violent.

Kita jolts up in fear and screams, covering her ears. You hushed her, “everything is going to be okay, everything is going to be fine. I’m here to protect you, alright?” You stood up and start untying the parka wrapped around your waist, putting it over Kita. “Hopefully that helps.” You said to yourself before settling back down beside her.

“W-What about you? Won’t you be cold?” You shook your head and smiled lightly at her, “this is nothing to me and you need it more than I do.” Kita gives you a look of doubt but when she saw a quick flash of light, she quickly covers her ears before the lightning strike. You were never put in a situation like this before and as much as you want to walk around in hopes to find anyone, you can’t leave Kita alone especially when she’s this afraid of lightning. 

You couldn’t even contact Shinsou since your phone wasn’t with him and you doubt there’s even any signal in a storm like this. You start to overthink things, thinking what if this storm doesn’t stop until morning? What if Shinsou is looking for you in the rain and ends up getting lost himself? Is Kita’s brother even okay? Did he go home to tell their parents about what happened? 

You snapped out of your thoughts when you felt something pulling you close. You look down and notice Kita had buried her face on your side as her hands hold onto you for dear life. You took a deep breath and started rubbing on her back, “everything is going to be okay.”

At this point you just completely lost track of time. You didn’t even know how long you were out for when you woke up for the first time after the fall. What time was it? How long have you two been sitting there for? When will the storm end? Is Shinsou okay?

Kita had passed out in your arms just a few minutes ago and she was all wrapped up comfortably in your parka. Before she fell asleep you managed to learn more things about her. Kita was 6 years old, her brother’s name is Kai, and you also found out what happened before her fall. In Kita’s point of view, it seems like she just wants to spend more time with her brother and his friends since it doesn’t seem like he knows any girls at her age.

But in Kai’s point of view, it seems like he does care about her, he’s just ashamed to admit that when he’s around his friends. You were petting her head as she snored lightly, feeling comfortable and safe in your touch. Good thing all that hero training taught you a lot of things. If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t know what to do in a situation like this. 

You looked up at the sky and surely enough the storm was starting to calm down slightly. You noticed Kita sniffling in her sleep though. She must’ve gotten a cold. The rain has settled down a bit which is when you start to wake Kita. As much as you didn’t want to ruin her sleep, you can’t let her stay in the cold much longer and it’s good to start moving now. She wakes up and you give her a smile, “let’s start looking for your brother, okay?”

Kita nods her head weakly. “Here, get on my back.” She slowly gets on and you put your hands under her legs for support. She already had the parka on so you weren’t too worried. You start walking on a possible path, silently hoping that it would lead you somewhere instead of a dead end.

“(Y/N), do you really think…. my brother cares for me?” She says in a saddened tone. You smiled, “of course! He might not say or show it, but I’m sure he cares about you as much as you care about him.” Chuckling lightly, you faced front, “I have an older brother too and yeah, he can be mean but he just doesn’t know how to express his emotions. They’re embarrassed, that’s what I meant to say.” You laughed which makes Kita smile lightly.

“I didn’t get to ask you a while ago so where are you from, (Y/N)?” She asked. “I’m from Musutafu.” Kita suddenly gasps, “why did you come this far? Isn’t that where that hero school is? Kai talks about it a lot with his friends!” You couldn’t help but smile at how much Kita really admired and looked up to her brother. “Yup and I attend that school!” 

Kita lets out an even more loud gasp, “you’re a hero?” You laughed nervously, “yeah, but I’m not a pro one just yet. I still need to finish school and work hard to each my goal.” She starts to swing her legs back and forth, “I always hear Kai talk about wanting to be a hero when he grows up.”

“Do you have a Quirk, Kita?” She gets silent and shakes her head lightly, “I don’t have a Quirk yet but I hope it’s something like yours!” Her words catch you off guard. “I used to want to be a hero because of Kai but… you changed that for me!” 

Kita smiled widely as she looked up at the dark sky, “I want to be a hero like you, (Y/N)!”

“That might be them- KITA!” A voice from behind yelled. Kita recognized that voice right away and starts to squirm, making you get down on a one knee so she doesn’t fall. Kita starts running to a figure as sobs left her mouth, “ _oniichan!_ ” She yelled and hugs onto her brother tightly.

You turn around and saw the two siblings finally reunited, smiling at them lightly. A figure from behind the two walks up towards you. Shinsou had a lot of things to say to you but when he finally saw you, no words seemed to come out of his mouth. Before he talks you drop your head on his chest and start to sob. He wrapped his arms around you slowly and pulls you close to him as his other hand rubbed on your back.

“I was so afraid…. I didn’t know what to do….” you said in a trembling voice which makes Shinsou hush you, “you did great. You’re safe now…. both of you are.”

* * *

The two of you ended up staying at Kita and Kai’s house for the time being since you and Shinsou weren’t at the right age yet to get a hotel room, and their parents didn’t mind since they owed you a lot for looking after their kids.

Shinsou had just finished showering, wiping his hair with a towel as he entered the room. You had a towel draping over your head with your hands hugging onto your knees tightly. He closes the door behind him and sits beside you. “You okay now?” You nodded, “the bleeding stopped so I’m good.”

He shook his head lightly, “I didn’t mean the cut. I meant you.” You took a deep breath and shrugged your shoulders, “yeah I’m fine. You have nothing to worry about really.” Shinsou sighed, “cut that crap, (Y/N). I should be mad at you right now. You were careless and got yourself hurt and lost. I was worried sick about you and you’re acting as if that was nothing.” 

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of what you did. You saved the girl and looked after her. But right now, I need you to be honest with me. You can’t just tell me you’re okay when you’re clearly not.” You took in a shaky breath and rested your forehead on top of your knees. 

The room goes silent. You bit your quivering lip and held back the tears from flowing again while Shinsou just looked at you from the side. 

“She was so afraid, Toshi... I didn’t know what to do…” you said while keeping your head down low. “I wanted to look for help right away but she was so scared of the lightning it was almost impossible….” you took deep breaths in between, trying to keep your composure. “I pretended like everything was fine but in reality, I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t even sure if I was walking in the right direction...” 

You looked up at the ceiling, “she even said that she wants to be a hero like me.” Forcing out a chuckle, you smiled weakly, “who’d want to be a hero who doesn’t know how to handle a simple situation like that?” Shinsou pulls the towel away from his hair and sighed.

“You can say whatever you want about yourself, but you did amazing back there. Sure I didn’t see or know much about what happened, but if a young girl could still smile brightly after an experience like that then I’m more than positive that you were great.”

He pulls on the towel on top of your head and throws it at your face, “so quit being a baby, will you.” Shinsou walks over to a drying rack at the corner of the room and hangs his towel there, “I already called your mom and explained to her everything.” You finally looked at Shinsou after a while, your eyes widened in fear.

He scoffed, “don’t look at me like that. No, I didn’t tell her about what happened. At least for now since that’s not for me to tell. I only told her about the storm and that it’d be best for us to stay here for the time being. We’re going back in the morning though.” You let out a sigh of relief, “thank goodness.”

There was a knock on the door that makes you and Shinsou pause. “Come in,” he says and the door slowly opens. “Kita? Shouldn’t you be in bed at this hour?” You asked but she doesn’t respond to your question. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop in your conversation just now… I just didn’t know how to enter.”

You looked over to Shinsou who just shrugs. “I made you this!” She shows you a drawing of the two of you under the rock when she was sleeping in your arms. You slowly took it from her, stumbling in your words. “I don’t know what to say, Kita… but, thank you so much.” You hold your arms out and she runs to give you a hug. Her mom calls for her shortly after and leaves the room. Shinsou snatches the drawing from your hand and looks at it, “seems like I’m not the only one who thinks the same.”

You playfully rolled your eyes at Shinsou as he hands it back to you. “You should probably get some shut eye too since you’ve been through a lot. Pass me your towel so I can dry it.” You did as told and he catches it. “So which side are you sleeping on?” 

You looked down on the futon you were sitting at and looked up at him with a shrug, “does it really matter? Aren’t both sides the same?” Shinsou shrugs back, “depends on the person, I guess. In that case, I’m going to turn off the lights now.” 

You two lay down beside each other and you were just facing the ceiling while Shinsou was using his phone. “You’re not going to sleep yet?” You asked him. He looks away from his phone, “I’m not really feeling sleepy right now. Why do you ask?” You took a deep breath and sighed, “was just asking.”

“You know I just realized.” Shinsou turns his phone off to listen to you, humming in response. You let out a small laugh, “this is our first time sleeping in the same room together.” You stretched your arms in the air before placing them behind your head. “Wasn’t what I had in mind for our first sleepover, but that’s fine.” Shinsou manages to laugh as well.

“Oh yeah, you didn’t really tell me what happened after you saw my phone on the ground.” Shinsou rubbed his nape, “it wasn’t easy believe me. You know me with kids. They’re just not the same as animals. Well, they are. In some areas but they’re just way too much to handle.” He heaves a breath which makes you laugh.

“You’re really bad with kids. I mean, I’m sure you’d be good at them, it’s just not good for the kids considering how intimidating and scary you look.” He quirks a brow at you, “is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?” You chuckled, “you can see it in any way you like.”

He turned to his side so now he was fully facing you, “no, no, don’t change the subject now. Tell me what you really think of me.” You laughed at him, shaking your head lightly, “you’re taking this way too seriously than it is.”

The night continued on until you eventually passed out. Shinsou wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t feeling any sleepiness at all. It’s not like that was something new to him. He has always had trouble sleeping ever since he was a kid which explains the dark circles under his eyes. 

Although he gave you that whole lecture about you lying about your emotions and not being truthful to him, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for being a hypocrite about that. He sat up and covered his whole face with his hands as he heaved a long and heavy breath, trying not to wake you up at the same time.

He didn’t want to tell you since it seemed like you already had so many things on your plate so he decided to keep his emotions to himself. When he first saw you, he just wanted to run towards you and hold onto you tightly just to make sure you don’t go anywhere far away from him again but he just didn’t. He wanted to scold you, yell at you, and even punish you for making him worry sick about you.

Shinsou didn’t need to ask you about what happened to understand. Judging from all the cuts and bruises on your skin compared to Kita who seemed just fine and only suffered from a simple scratch, he knew you used your Quirk on her instead of saving yourself. While looking for you under the storm he was silently blaming himself for what happened to you.

_“Maybe if I went with you. Maybe if I was there to do something before anything bad happened. Maybe if I had just listened to my instincts instead of letting you go; this wouldn’t have happened.”_

The more he looked, the more guilt drowned him. The one thing he promised himself and your own mother; he couldn’t even keep it. Were you really his close friend if he couldn’t save you? If he couldn’t be there to protect you when you needed him the most? What kind of friend even was he?

Shinsou starts taking deep breaths to calm himself down and something warm touches his arm causing him to flinch. “Did you have a nightmare?” You asked him in a soft voice. He smiled lightly at you, giving you a gentle pat on the head, “yeah, don’t worry about me.” And just like that you slowly went back to sleep.

He sighs, rubbing his arm that you had just touched. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally some crumbs
> 
> kudos and comments are always appreciated <3


	37. The Cat

“So that concludes your lesson for today. Make sure to pass your written outputs by the end of the day. I will not be accepting any work later than that.” Miss Midnight leaves the classroom and the moment she does Kaminari heaves a long breath followed by a groan, “it’s our first day back and we already have so much to do.” You looked down on your work and hummed.

“Are you going to skip lunch to do the assignment?” Jirou asks as she stood up from her seat. You looked up and shrugged, “I honestly don’t know. I’m not really… feeling it.” Her eyes slightly widen, “really? That’s strange coming from you.” Mina then jumps in between you and Jirou, “then are you going to eat lunch with me?” She asked happily with a bright smile on her face.

You rest your cheek on the palm of your head not knowing what you were going to do for lunch. Mina notices you struggling which makes her pout and lean her head close to yours with her hands on her hips, “you didn’t even tell us you went on a hiking trip! You didn’t even send us an invite.” She folded her arms.

You heaved a breath, “it’s not like I didn’t want to invite anybody. The trip was planned last minute and nothing special happened. We just hiked, that’s all.” You say to your friends but on the other side of the classroom was a completely different conversation.

Kaminari swings an arm around Shinsou’s shoulders and pulls him closer to him, “they say that but I’m sure something did happen. So, tell us Hitoshi, did you do _the deed?_ ” Shinsou heaved a breath, slapping Kaminari’s arm off of him, “get your mind off the gutter.”

“Where’s the lie though? It only means something important and special happened if you and (Y/N) are both hiding something!” He continues but Shinsou wasn’t budging at all. “Maybe that’s because nothing did happen and you’re just imagining things.” He folds his arms before him with a sigh. The two of you didn’t know how, but your classmates found out about the hiking trip. It wasn’t like you were posting about it on your social media, but-

Then you remembered you did post that photo of Shinsou inside the train while he was busy looking at his phone. Now that you think about it you’ve taken a lot of photos of Shinsou during that trip just because he was distracted by his device for most of the trip. But you only really posted one photo and it didn’t really scream “hiking trip” in any way, shape, or form. 

After the night of the incident, you and Shinsou decided it was best to leave before breakfast since you two already stayed more in that household than you two had originally planned. It was just going to be a quick stop just so you two can drop Kita and Kai to their house safely but the parents insisted you two stayed for the night since hotels weren’t anywhere near their area and it’d be troublesome to walk in the rain.

You two said your goodbyes for the last time and talked to Kita before leaving. “You’ll come back to visit, right?” She asked you shyly, her hands behind her back as she pouts at you. You got down so you could be at the same eye level as her, nodding with a smile, “I promise that.” She smiled widely and pulls you into a tight hug while Shinsou waits for you to finish. 

And ever since you met Kita, your determination to becoming the greatest hero has only gotten stronger. 

“Are you done thinking to yourself?” A voice wakes you back up to reality. “You still thinking about Kita?” He takes the vacant seat beside you. You sighed with a smile, “can you blame me? But I’m not thinking negatively about it this time.”

“I’ll… I’ll do my best to help and inspire people around me. I’ll become stronger, and I’ll-” Shinsou tosses something towards you which catches you off guard, but luckily you caught it using your Quirk. You looked at it before grabbing it in the air with raised brows. “It’s a sandwich. I made it this morning when I noticed you didn’t pack yourself lunch.”

You gave him a warm smile, “thanks, Toshi.” He leaned back slightly as he starts to unwrap the sandwich he made for himself, “if you’re still hungry then tell me so I can take a quick trip to the cafeteria.” You looked at him with your eyebrows raised, “you’re not doing your work?” Shinsou shook his head, “I already finished it while she was explaining so I have nothing to worry about.”

“Oh, then you’ve already passed yours?” He doesn’t respond and waits until he was done chewing. “I thought you’d be done with yours too so I just waited.” You heaved a breath, “you idiot, you didn’t need to wait for me. You can pass right now.”

Shinsou shrugged, “no point in doing it now. We’re walking back to the dorms together anyway so if you plan on passing it during dismissal then let’s just pass it together.” You would’ve continued to argue with him but you decided to give it up today. You’d be lying to yourself if you said that you didn’t notice how clingy and protective Shinsou has gotten.

When you thought he was already very protective to begin with and there was no chance it could get any worse, oh boy you were very wrong about that. He stopped letting you come over to his place after that and started heading to yours. He even went as far as to bring his two cats to you just so you wouldn’t complain.

You ended up eating the other half of the sandwich first before continuing with your work. Shinsou was just observing you from the side which felt like eternity and you were feeling more and more nervous since it felt like he was watching every move you were making. You finally had enough and put your pen down to face him, “okay, can we talk?”

He quirks a brow at you, “what do you want to talk about?” You take a deep breath and point at him, “I’m worried about you and I feel like I had just gotten myself my own bodyguard.” Shinsou doesn’t look like he quite understands what you were implying making you sigh, “Toshi, I’m perfectly fine. I’m not some baby who doesn’t know how to eat, walk, and protect themselves from danger.”

“You think I don’t know that?” He takes a sip from his water bottle and puts it down. You let out a laugh, “I swear you’ve been more like a mother than my own mom.” You noticed how Shinsou wasn’t really reacting to your joke which only worried you more. “Hey,” you put your hand over his, making him meet your gaze.

“I’m feeling much better than I was a week and a half ago, alright? You don’t have to worry about me- though I do appreciate it a lot, I just can’t take seeing you this stressed and worried any longer.” He flips his hand over so now you two were holding each other’s, “fine, I’ll take your word for it. But I can’t just stop these feelings of mine.” You hummed, trying to think of something. “Is there any way I can possibly help or make it up to you?” You laughed, “after all I didn’t really get to thank you properly for what happened. I owe you a lot.”

He shook his head, “you really don’t have to-”

“I was going to suggest watching another movie together, but we do that so many times I don’t even think it’s a special occasion anymore.” You cut him off and continued to think of something else. “Would suggest going on another trip, but I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing you want right now.” You rubbed the back of your head, laughing nervously.

“You really don’t have to-” you let out a loud “ah” sound which completely cuts him off once again. He sighs, “you’re really ignoring me, huh.” You looked at him with bright and sparkling eyes, “what about going to a cat café? I heard it just opened and it’s just a train ride away.”

“Before you say or ask anything, **I’m** paying for everything, got it? I know how stubborn you can get so please just let me do it this _one_ time.” Shinsou doesn’t respond at first which worries you. “No, I won’t take no as an answer. We’re going next weekend. If… we’re not busy of course. I know how you take school seriously and I do too, and it wouldn’t be good if we just ditched- actually, no.”

“Busy or not, let’s just go for it! Seems irresponsible for me to say but… you need this trip as soon as possible.” Again, Shinsou doesn’t respond and just looks at you with a blank expression. You lean back on your chair and whined, “at least give me some sort of reaction! Don’t just look at me like that.” He couldn’t help but chuckle at your whining, “fine, fine, I won’t do anything and will leave everything to you.”

“But if you start spending a lot of money then I’ll have no choice but to step in and stop you.” You smiled at him, “fine then, that’s a deal!”

* * *

“You ready?” You asked him enthusiastically with your hands behind your back, smiling widely at him. “For the millionth time, yes.” He says and holds back a smile while you two continued to wait for the train to arrive. It’s not that he wasn’t happy, he was just a bit too shy to express his excitement. I mean, its cats were talking about. 

The train arrives and you two went in; luckily there were still a few vacant seats. You looking through your phone for directions and made sure you had a copy of your reservation form inside of your bag. You didn’t want to tell Shinsou the amount of trouble you had to go through just getting a simple reservation at this cat café. As expected, since it was a new it was packed and busy with customers coming from left and right. It didn’t help you one bit since it was a weekend. Once you’ve doublechecked everything, you let out a relieved breath. The last thing you want is ruining today.

You had arrived at your stop and you two stood up, exiting the train. Luckily the cat café was only a train ride away and just a few stops by bus. Once you two had come to your last stop, it was time to walk. The café was actually located in a shopping district so it was pretty crowded. You had been looking at your phone for some time now and there were times where Shinsou had to pull on your sleeve just seconds before you could bump into something or someone.

“Are we lost?” He asked but you were too busy looking around to hear him. “There must be something wrong…” you mumbled under your breath, biting on one of your nails nervously. Shinsou decides to leave it to you since he knew you preferred it that way. While you were busy whispering to yourself, he was just looking around the area. 

After a minute or so you rush over to Shinsou, “I found it.” You start walking and he follows behind you. He can’t help but be reminded of the time you two went on that hiking trip, thinking that now your roles were reversed and he was the one following you around. You lead him down an alleyway and surely enough, there it was.

_Cat’s Tale_

You open the door and right away was greeted by two waitresses wearing cat aprons. “Name?” The lady asked and you made your way towards the counter, taking out your form and filling up another while Shinsou waits patiently. By the time you were done the lady hands you two pins that were cat-shaped.

You walk over to Shinsou and hand him his. “Put it on.” The waitress says with a cheerful smile. You and Shinsou exchange glances before doing as told. You had a bit difficulty on yours but he ended up helping. The lady starts leading the two of you to your table, taking your seats on floor cushions.

She places two menus down on the table that separated you and Shinsou, walking away and giving you two time to discuss your orders with one another. “What do you want to get?” You asked him while your eyes scanned through the various selections of cat themed meals.

He hummed, “I’ll just get the katsudon.” He says before closing the menu. You failed to hold back a laugh and the moment he saw that grin of yours he knew you were about to say something stupid. “Don’t you mean… _catsudon_?” Shinsou rubbed his temple in frustration but a small smile starts spreading on the corners of his lips, “that’s so stupid…” he mumbled while you giggled in the background.

The waiter takes both of your orders and right away it a few cats started hanging out by your table. Some were even on Shinsou’s lap resting soundly. You played and petted a some of them while also flipping through a cat book they left on your table. “This one’s name is… Mango. And this one’s Rocket!” You read their names out loudly.

You played with Rocket a little longer until in your peripheral vision, you spot a cat from the distance just looking at you. You turn your gaze at it and there it was. Sitting at the very top of a cat tower, looking at you with half lidded eyes while its tail is swinging left and right. Before you could look up the cat’s name in the book, the waitress from earlier places your orders down. 

You both thanked the lady and she bows her head kindly, walking to a different table afterwards. You look over to Shinsou’s order and gasped, “it’s… cat-shaped!” You said with bright eyes while he nods, “I don’t know what else I was expecting to be honest.” You two start eating your meals and while eating you tried looking around to see if you could spot that same cat from earlier but no luck.

Shinsou notices and lifts a brow, “what are you looking for?” He asked. You swallowed your food and wiped the corners of your lips with a piece of tissue, “I saw this cat earlier and I can’t seem to find them right now.” He hummed, “maybe they’re taking a nap somewhere or one of the customers are playing with them.” You nodded your head weakly, “you’re right.”

After you two finished your meal, you decided to play with the cats more along with Shinsou. He was using one of the toys and laughed lightly at how lost and playful the cats were getting. Smiling, you quickly take a photo of him without him noticing and put the phone back inside your pocket, getting up from your seat, “I need to use the restroom, I’ll be back in a minute.” 

You walk towards a sign that pointed to where the comfort room was and while making your way there, you abruptly stopped your tracks. There it was. The same cat from earlier. You squat down and slowly reached your hand towards it, only for the cat to take steps back from you, a faint hiss noise escaping their mouth. 

You couldn’t help but pout, “I won’t hurt you, little fella.” You say with a warm smile, attempting once again to pet them but this time it was a bit more successful. Just when you were inches away from petting them, the door to the female’s restroom opens which startles the tiny animal, running the opposite direction and entering another room.

You stood back up and sighed, entering the bathroom right after the cat was no longer in sight. 

You headed back to your table and Shinsou looks up at you, “what took you so long?” It took you a little longer to answer since you were still trying to look for the cat. “Oh- uh, there was a line.” He furrowed his brows while you took your seat down. Your eyes land on the cat book and you quickly flipped through it, looking if the cat had any info.

Looking at the very last page of the book, you decided to flip through it again just in case you accidentally skipped a page but once again, no luck. _Maybe that cat had just been adopted so that’s why they don’t have information about them_ was your initial thought. 

But just when you were about to give up, a noise came from under your table. With raised brows, you looked down and saw the same cat from earlier looking up at you. Carefully, you start to pet them, making sure they don’t run off again. After some time Shinsou finally looks over to you and sees an unfamiliar cat nuzzling close to you on your chest.

“Oh, who’s that?” He asked and you just gave him a bright smile. Shinsou looked down and knew who this cat was right away. “I see you found them.” While spending more time with the cat, you noticed that the cats from before were no longer getting anywhere near your table. Even the cat on Shinsou’s lap was keeping his distance.

“What’s that cat’s name?” He asked and you shrugged your shoulders, “honestly I have no idea. I looked through the book and he’s nowhere to be seen. Maybe they just brought him in?” Shinsou checks the cat book and nods, “you’re right.” 

The waitress from earlier comes over to your table to gather the empty dishes. “Did you two enjoy your meals?” She asked, putting everything on a tray but froze once she saw the small animal in your arms. “This is quite a sight to see.” The lady says before putting down the tray on your table, getting closer to the cat resting comfortably on you.

She reaches for the cat but he moves behind you and hisses, causing the lady to let out a laugh while you sat there confused. “We just found that cat recently. He was looking for shelter under the rain and we decided to take him in. We almost thought that it’d be impossible for him to get close with anyone, but we continued to take care of him in hopes of him to warm up to us.” You look over to Shinsou who simply just shrugs. 

“We found him a week after we opened and still haven’t thought of a name. You see, we base their names off names that match their personalities and we tried thinking of names for this little guy but none seem to match him.” You looked behind you and saw the cat seated, eyes looking up at you once again. Lifting him up and placing him back on your lap, the animal melts like butter and is now comfortable, nuzzling his head against your leg. 

The lady smiled widely at him before turning her gaze to look at you, “say why don’t you name him?” Your eyes widened as you quickly start shaking your head, “n-no I can’t! That’s kind of too much pressure…” her warm smile never left her lips, “I insist. He has never let us pet him or even let alone eat in the same room as us so this truly is such a memorial day to remember. You can take your time; we’ll be waiting patiently.” She says and takes the tray finally, leaving.

Shinsou just smiled softly at you, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand, “so, do you have a name?” You heaved a breath, “this is so sudden though. I don’t want to take responsibility in naming an animal.” You look down and pick them up, “they do remind me a lot of someone though.” 

He quirks a brow at you while you lift the cat up, comparing him and Shinsou side to side. He notices what you’re doing and glares, “are you really comparing me to a cat?” You shrugged, “I don’t know to be honest but… you and the cat seem to be alike in some way. A way that I can’t seem to point out.” The cat meows and you put him back on your lap.

Shinsou sighed, “first Tokoyami and now a cat?” You couldn’t help but laugh, “can you blame me? Though I don’t want you misunderstanding and thinking that you’re replaceable in any way. It’s just that…” you hummed, “maybe it’s because I spend time with you so much that a lot of things remind me of you.”

“But this time it’s different! Don’t you think you and this cat look somewhat the same?” You turn it over so it was now facing Shinsou. “If I dyed him indigo and entered your room to see this cat instead of you, I’d be convinced that a villain somehow managed to turn you into one!” The two looked at each other with the same tired and half lidded eyes almost like it was a staring contest. 

“I don’t see it.” He says and takes a long sip from his drink while the cat looked up at you as if it was saying the same thing. You didn’t want to get into detail, but you could list down so many things about this cat that shared the same characteristics as Shinsou. The waitress comes back with your bill and you looked at it. 

“So, have you thought of a name?” You gave the lady a wide smile, nodding your head. Leaning closer to her, you whispered the name into her ear while Shinsou just glares at you across the table. The lady’s eyes grew wide and sparkled, “that’s a perfect name!” 

You paid for the bill and now you two were off. “What did you name the cat? Don’t tell me you named it Shinsou or anything that relates to me.” You look back at him with your arms behind your back, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Just when you were about to walk out, a familiar meow came from behind you. You looked down and saw the same cat from earlier. Squatting down, you start petting the animal once again, “don’t worry I’ll make sure to visit again.” He purrs lightly to your touch, nuzzling his head closer to your hand. You finally got up and turned to Shinsou, “shall we go?”

You open the door and was about to step out until the most unfortunate thing happened. 

“Toshi, come on it’s lunch time for you.” Shinsou furrowed his brows and turned around, seeing that the lady wasn’t talking to him but instead was talking to the cat. He takes a deep breath in and exhales, turning his gaze to where you once were but you were gone.

He walked out of the café and saw you speed walking. “Are you seriously trying to run away from me right now?” He asked with a glare while you just giggled uncontrollably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as usual, kudos and comments are appreciated <3


	38. Lectures

“Can’t believe we’re having our 2nd school festival; it feels like the last one happened just a few months ago.” Mina stretched her arms in the air followed with a cheer, “so, what are we planning to do this time? Another performance maybe?” A few people didn’t seem to mind that suggestion but it wasn’t like everyone was agreeing. “I think we should do something different this time.”

You leaned forward on your desk so your chin was now resting on it, “I’m excited but there’s going to be so much things to do again.” You whined silently while Jirou just chuckles softly at you. “I still can’t believe Mina put you in the performance team _and_ the special effects team.” Your expression turns into a bitter one, “I would’ve been fine with just staying in special effects but she kept insisting that they need me in both.”

“It was still impressive seeing you dance while also helping out with special effects at the same time.” You laughed nervously, “luckily I didn’t pass out of exhaustion while doing so. I was mainly in charge of cleanup so…” You sit up straight when you heard Momo and Iida calling for the class’ attention to vote.

Kaminari suggested doing a play but would that Monoma dude from Class 2-B be okay with that? Everyone knows for a fact without even saying it loudly that he will never shut up about it once he finds out and will start comparing. To save the trouble, doing a play was off of the list. Doing another performance wasn’t a bad idea either, it just seemed like half of the class didn’t want to do the same thing every year. 

“We did already prove ourselves to everybody with our performance. Do we need to do it again?” Everyone just heaved a breath and started thinking of more ideas. “What about those typical maid cafés-” before Kaminari could finish, someone had landed a fist on top of his head, “absolutely not.” Mina rejects right away.

“As much as the costumes sound cute… won’t that give us a bad image? Especially since last year we did a whole performance and then this year it’d be strange of us to just do a maid café.” Hagakure comments on. “What about a Scavenger Hunt?” Kirishima speaks out which makes everyone turn their heads towards him.

“That’s not a terrible idea…” Momo rubbed her chin to think more about it. “I’m surprised you didn’t say anything that relates to showing off manliness.” Shoji looks at the red head who was caught off guard, laughing nervously, “I figured since I doubt anyone would agree with that.” 

“Scavenger Hunt is one of the choices then.” She says and starts writing it down on the board. “Another choice is… a Haunted House.” You felt yourself holding back a laugh, remembering Shinsou’s costume last year. “If I’m not mistaken didn’t Class C do this last year, Shinsou?” Iida looked at the indigo haired male who just heaves a breath, nodding his head weakly. 

Without even conversing with Shinsou, you knew for a fact that he wanted nothing to do with a Haunted House. You turn your head and rested your cheek on the desk, now looking at Jirou, “what are you voting for?” You asked. She hummed, “looking at the choices we really don’t have much. I want to do another performance, but I agree with everyone about the whole repeat thing.”

The Scavenger Hunt won by a landslide compared to the rest. “Alright, now that we have that settled, later in the dorms we’ll be discussing about the roles and the general theme of the hunt.” And just like that homeroom class was over. 

The school festival was happening in less than a month so time was very valuable. Everyone had met up in the dorms as planned and gathered around at the common area. “Alright, is everyone here?” Momo asked as she looked around while Iida counted everyone. “Bakugou, come closer here!” He yelled at the blond who was sitting at the far back.

He clicked his tongue, “this is a waste of time.” The meeting continued and surprisingly was more productive than last years. Instead of your average hunt, everyone decided to put a little twist into it. Instead of them looking for certain objects, why not let the players rescue victims instead? They are given a list in which they have to complete. Well, the more they planned it out the more “scavenger hunt” was no longer the general theme. Basically, turning into a search and rescue.

The students will be split into two groups: one being the people getting rescued, and the rest will be on guard just in case something happens like a player getting injured. Already informing Aizawa, he’s planning on asking Nezu the next day if it’s okay for your class to use a huge part of the field for your activity. 

“Firstly, we need to buy a few materials…” Momo offers to handle it but everyone knew it was best for her to rest up since everyone needs her Quirk for something bigger in the future so she needs to rest up as much as she can. “In that case can any of the boys handle buying the materials? We’re going to need a lot so we’ll need those who can carry a lot without a problem.” Kirishima, Shoji, and Sato volunteer without a problem until you raised your hand, “I can help out with my Quirk if that’s alright!”

Iida hummed, “are you okay with that?” You nodded quickly, “I can handle it.” Momo and Iida turn to look at each and nod, “we’ll need you to be in charge of the expenses too since… it’s not that we don’t trust you boys, it’s just we might need (Y/N) to step in here and there.” 

“I’ll hand you the list once I’m done with it, is that okay with you?” You gave her a warm smile, “of course.” You really didn’t mind helping since it is your Quirk’s specialty to carry things without a problem, you can even call this practice. The meeting resumes until most of the things have finally been cleared out.

Everyone started heading back to their rooms one by one, some still talking to each other about how excited they are for this event. You headed over to the kitchen to fetch yourself a glass of water, you bumped into a familiar face like usual. “What are your thoughts about the theme so far?” You asked him, opening the fridge to take out a pitcher of water.

He crossed his arms on his chest and shrugged his shoulders, “it’s alright, I guess. Honestly it’s better than a haunted house.” You filled your cup up and took a sip, turning to look at Shinsou while your behind was resting against the counter. You pull the cup away from your lips and put it down beside you, letting out a chuckle, “what do you mean? You looked amazing in your outfit.”

Shinsou glares at you for a second before his features soften, letting out a sigh, “quit teasing me.” You couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction, “I’m not lying though! It matches your _cool, mysterious, and intimidating_ physique.” You say but he doesn’t seem to be impressed. 

“Hearing the constant screams and yells of people isn’t fun, especially when they’re screaming right into your ear.” You hummed and tilt your head slightly to the left with a shrug, “I guess you’re right.” You pour some more water into your empty cup and hand it to him with raised brows. He nods his head and takes it from you, taking a sip. 

Eventually the common area was empty and it was just you and Shinsou left now. He ends up washing the cup you two shared while you stood at the opposite side of the counters, resting your cheek on the palm of your hand while your eyes wandered downward. Without even looking at you, “I’m guessing you’re not feeling sleepy at all?” He asked, putting the glass to the side to dry.

He makes his way in front of you, the counters separating you both. You rubbed your face with both of your hands, letting out silent whines before putting your hands down, nodding your head in defeat. He chuckles lightly, “you do know we still have school tomorrow, right?”

You heaved a breath, “I know.” Shinsou’s eyes start wandering around the room. You cross your arms on the counter and leaned forward, letting your cheek rest on top of it. You looked up at Shinsou who was towering over you. He looks down at you and sighs, “sit up straight or else you’re going to end up falling asleep.”

“I won’t.” You replied but Shinsou just rolled his eyes at you. “What’s on your mind?” He asked, filling up the silence between you two. You pout a little bit with a shrug, “nothing’s on my mind which is bothering me. I can’t really think of anything and it’s… unsettling.” He hummed, his hand slowly reaching up to his nape to rub it.

You noticed and chuckled, tilting your head so now your chin was resting on your arm. He raises his brow at your sudden reaction, “what is it?” You shook your head with a smile, “nothing. It’s just that I know a lot of your habits.” He furrowed his brows, “what do you mean?” 

You finally sat up and point at his arm, “like that. Whenever you feel anxious or nervous about something, you rub on the back of your neck. You usually also have this grin on your face too.” He looks at your strangely for a second, looking away while nodding his head, “r-right…” You noticed his reaction and laughed, “that too!”

“When you feel embarrassed or don’t know what to do next you turn your head at the opposite direction.” He heaved a breath and looks back at you with half lidded eyes, “don’t act like you’re the only one that knows about _habits_.” He quotes with his fingers which causes you to chuckle and raise a brow at him, “fine, whatever.” You stretched your arms in the air followed by a yawn, “you’re no fun.”

“Whatever you say, but it’s time for your bedtime. Go back to your dorm before you fall asleep and I’ll have to carry you to your bed.” You start to feel the sleepiness overcome you, your eyelids start getting heavy, making it impossible to keep your eyes open. You mumbled something but Shinsou was no longer able to understand a word you were saying. Walking over to you, he gently pokes you.

You rub one of your eyes and finally got up from the stool you were sitting on. Shinsou ended up walking you to your dorm just to make sure you don’t suddenly pass out while walking. You both part ways after you headed inside your room, saying your goodnights to each other.

* * *

It was finally the weekend which meant you, Kirishima, Shoji, and Sato were heading to the mall to buy some things. You were all waiting at the common area of Kirishima who had accidentally forgot his phone inside of his room. Momo had already given you the money that Aizawa lent her the other day.

“What’s taking him so long?” Sato asked while you and Shoji just shrugged from the side. Kirishima eventually arrived and showed his phone to everyone, “I’m back!” Everyone got up from their seats and was about to leave until someone called you from behind.

You turned around and noticed it was Mina. “(Y/N) can you go buy me something since you’ll be out anyway?” Your pink alien friend asks you with a smile on her face. You nod your head, “sure, what is it?” The others started leaving the Heights Alliance and decided to wait for you outside while you talked to Mina. She takes out her phone and starts pressing on a few things before your phone buzzed.

Taking your phone out, it was a message from Mina. You look at her with a raised brow, clicking on the notification and looked down at the photo she had sent you. “It’s my favorite brand of natto and I tried looking for it last week but they’ve run out.” You nodded and put your device back inside of your pocket, “I’ll pay for it but if it’s too expensive, I’m letting you pay me half of the price.”

She smiled widely at you and pulls you into a tight hug, “YOU’RE TOO NICE, (Y/N)!” You wave her goodbye along with the 3 other boys and you were off. You looked down at the long list Momo handed to you this morning and mumbled them to yourself, causing Kirishima to look over your shoulder and ask what you were doing.

“I’m just looking at all the things they listed down. It’s… a lot, don’t you think?” Kirishima’s hand reaches for the list and you hand it to him. His red eyes scanned through the paper and let out a faint gasp before showing you his sharp toothed smile, “we can handle it though!” 

You nodded your head, taking the list back from his hand. “I’m kind of worried for the budget though… will it be enough?” Sato asked and you just shrugged your shoulders lightly, “I can’t say. Momo ended up giving me extra money just in case that happens.” The four of you eventually arrived at the bus station and waited for the ride to arrive.

* * *

It had been a few hours and it was about to be 5pm soon. A few others were at the living room area waiting for your return. Momo glances at the clock one more time while biting the tips of her fingers anxiously, “maybe we asked them to buy too much things which is why they’re taking so long.” 

“You don’t think they were attacked by a villain, right?” Kaminari asked before getting smacked in the head by Sero who swings an arm to wrap around his shoulder, “have some faith, I’m sure they’re fine.” Momo just heaved a breath, “have they responded to any of your messages?” She turns her head to everyone who either shrugged or shook their heads.

“Kirishima hasn’t responded to any of mine.” Kaminari shows his phone. Mina just stretched her arms in the air, “I’m sure they’re just too busy carrying and looking for things to check their messages. At least that’s what (Y/N) would do.” Momo heaved a breath and sinks lower into the couch, “I knew I listed too much.”

“If something did happen, I’m sure we’d know since the mall they went to is just a few stops away in bus.” Jirou says to calm everyone down. Midoriya nods his head with a smile, “plus, I’m sure they’ll think of something if the worst comes to worst. (Y/N) has her powerful Quirk and her smarts to escape any situation and she’s with Kirishima, Shoji, and Sato.”

Everyone starts to calm down after his words. Shinsou coincidentally comes down the stairs which causes everyone to turn their heads to him. He feels the gazes and turns to look back at his classmates with furrowed brows, “did I interrupt something?”

“Shinsou, has (Y/N) responded to any of your messages at all?” He nodded his head slowly and hesitantly, feeling the pressure that it seemed like everyone was observing every move he made and was listening to every single word that left his lips, “yeah, why?”

Some of them heaved relieved breaths. He raised his eyebrows at them in even more confusion while Mina whined in the background, “I can’t believe she’s ignoring my messages.” Shinsou just looked at their stressed expressions which makes him clear his throat, “we’re not texting right now though. Her last message to me was almost an hour ago.”

Momo looks at him, “what did she say? Did she say anything specific about their location?” Shinsou nodded, “she did. She said that they’re on their last stop which is at the grocery story to buy some natto Ashido requested her to get. I came down here because I assumed that they’d be back by now.”

Their heads slowly turn to Mina who just nervously laughed while rubbing the back of her neck. “Isn’t that strange though? She said that they’re at their last stop but that was almost an hour ago…” Iida rubbed his chin to think. “(Y/N) has her phone muted most of the time, but I’ll try giving her a call.” Shinsou offered, dialing your number and waiting for you to pick up.

Four rings later and you eventually did. “Toshi? Hey, what’s up?” He raised a brow at your tone, it sounded like you were panting and that you were in a hurry. “Did something happen? Shouldn’t you guys be home by now?” 

“Yeah, we’re almost there, just give us a few more minutes. Just be patient for us, alright?” Before he could respond back you had already ended the call. Everyone rushed around Shinsou causing him to get startled a bit. “Well? Where are they?” 

He slowly put his phone back inside his pocket and rubbed his nape, “she said that they’re almost here but sounded like she was tired and was in a hurry.” They all looked at each other with the same confused expressions on their faces. “You don’t think they’re being chased by a villai-” Sero covers Kaminari’s mouth with his tape and laughs, “they’re fine!”

They all went back to the couch and sat down, continuing to wait. An hour has passed and still no sign of you and the others. They were planning on telling Aizawa but they knew that’d be the worst thing to happen. Who knew what his punishment would be.

* * *

You all sat down on the bus with bags and bags around you all. You sank lower into your seat while heavy breathing, “that hiking trip did nothing to me.” You told yourself in between pants. “We didn’t leave anything behind, right?” Shoji asked, checking up on everyone.

Sato exhaled, “I hope we didn’t or else we’ll only get into more trouble.” Kirishima suddenly curses, causing everyone to look at him with raised brows. “My phone is filled with missed calls and messages.” He exclaimed, looking at his device in terror. “It’s 6pm too.” Shoji said with wide eyes.

“I can’t believe we just spent 5 hours. Do you think Aizawa-” Kirishima covered his ears, “let’s not jinx it, shall we?” He laughed nervously; his eyes filled with worry. Around 4 stops later, you all had arrived. Using your Quirk, you start carrying some of the bags, even offering to help out the others but they kindly rejected saying you’re probably the most exhausted out of all of them.

You hopped out of the bus with the bags and your eyes widened. “Hitoshi?” He looks up from his device and gets up from the seat he was sitting on. “What are you doing here-” you stopped and started looking around, trying to see if anyone else was around. 

“It’s just me. I came here because you all were taking long and everyone was getting worried.” He takes come of the bags you were carrying with your Quirk, “it’s fine I can handle it.” He doesn’t bother to look at you, “rest up your Quirk, you look exhausted.”

“Shinsou, does Aizawa know about-” he shook his head, “we didn’t report to him. But you all owe everyone an apology, especially Yaoyorozu.” You all nodded in defeat. While the others were following behind, you and Shinsou were walking alongside each other.

“So, do you mind telling me what happened exactly? You owe me an explanation too, you know.” You heaved a breath and rubbed the back of your head facing down, “it’s… stupid, believe me.” You said with a sheepish smile. Shinsou wasn’t buying it so he doesn’t respond.

Taking a deep breath, you sighed. “We took a quick break and sat down somewhere since we’ve been walking and standing for so long. But while we were getting distracted, someone had accidentally taken one of our bags thinking it was theirs so we started panicking, mostly Kirishima, which resulted us to take that long.” 

“It took longer than we thought and we ended up calling security and… I’ll save you the details, we basically got the bag back after an hour and a half of searching.” Shinsou lifts a brow, “why did you guys go all through that trouble?”

“Well, I don’t… really have an answer for that honestly.” You laughed loudly while Shinsou just rolled his eyes at you. “And for Ashido’s natto?” You avert your eyes and just started laughing nervously, “y-you see…”

* * *

“The bag that was taken… was Mina’s natto?!” They all exclaimed at the same time. You all stood in one row with nervous smiles. “Why didn’t you just forget about the natto, dumbasses.” Bakugou joins the lecturing which surprises everyone. “We couldn’t really do that since the cash Yaoyorozu gave us was in that ba-”

The yelling increases but this time it was inaudible. Everyone was yelling at the four of you at the same time that it was impossible to understand anybody. After 10 minutes of that messy lecture, everyone went back to doing their own things while the four of you looked like your souls all left your bodies.

Shinsou walked over to you with his arms crossed before him, sighing, “so that’s what you didn’t want to tell me.” You just heaved a breath followed by a nod, “yup…” you said in defeat. “Don’t tell me you’re going to lecture me too.” You whined, dragging your feet as you walked.

He shook his head, “I won’t since they already did it for me.” You felt slightly more relieved. “How long have you been using your Quirk?” He suddenly brought up. You looked at him and hummed, thinking. “The whole time, I guess.” Shinsou glares at you which makes you turn your gaze away, “but I don’t mind. If I knew I couldn’t handle it, I wouldn’t have volunteered in the first place.”

Shinsou takes a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling, “fine I’ll let this slide. Dinner will be ready shortly so just stay here for a few minutes and eat. Afterwards you can go ahead and sleep. You did run around the mall and you and running don’t-”

You hit his side gently with a pout, “yeah, yeah, I get it. You don’t need to rub it on my face that I still suck at running.” He just gently laughs at your reaction, “I didn’t mean anything rude don’t put words into my mouth.” You rolled your eyes at him, “you say that but I know for a fact that that’s exactly what you were thinking.”

“You’re assuming again.” His tone was malicious, a wide grin on his lips as he quirks up a brow at you as if he was challenging you. “You’re such an ass.” He laughs again, “whatever you say.”


	39. A Tiring Day

“Yeah just put it right there.” Jirou says to the boys who were carrying boxes. You were helping out with decorations using your Telekinesis Quirk along with Uraraka’s. The night before today, Iida and Momo had assigned everyone their roles. There were three in total: the guardians, emergency, and lookout. Guardians being the ones who are in each checkpoint to help players with their missions, emergency team being the group that ensures no one is hurt and when there is, they’ll be sure to help out, and lastly is the lookout team, the group of students who make sure no one is lost and if something is wrong.

There had to be at least 1 or 2 guardians per checkpoint with 2 to 3 emergency members. You were put into the lookout team because it suits your Quirk the most especially when in times of need. There were over 4 checkpoints and 3 obstacle courses. You finally finished up putting decorations on a tree, heaving a long breath before a hand reached towards you holding a bottle of cold water. You nod to your pink friend and took the bottle from her hands, taking a sip from it. She looks up at your work, her pupils bright and shining like usual, “you did a good job!” She said with a thumbs up, her smile widening. 

You give her a weak smile and look up at the tree, “is it enough though? I feel like that piece right there would look better if I just move it slightly to the le-” her hand slaps your back causing you to let out a yelp, your shoulders slouching forward while she laughed at you in amusement, “stop taking the decorations so seriously, I doubt anyone is going to notice that.” You just rolled your eyes and bend over, taking the empty box now that you used all of the decorations that was once in it. “How’s the obstacle course going?” You asked, both of you walking together. 

She rests both hands on the back of her leaned back head with a slight pout on her lips, “it’s going good. I already did my share and left Kirishima and Todoroki to continue.” Mina was in the guardian team in the 2nd checkpoint with Midoriya. You two made it back to the first checkpoint where everyone was. “Good, (Y/N) and Mina are back so let’s start this meeting now that we’re complete.” You put the empty box in your hands by the side where everything else was while listening to Iida’s instructions in the background. Basically instructing everybody to be on their best behavior and make sure all the players enjoy and have fun since that was your class’ main goal. Just like last year, your top priority is the happiness of those around you.

After the group huddle and the loud and determined, “Let’s go Class 2-B”, everyone headed to their assigned places. Some people in your team were assigned to patrol by themselves while the others had a partner. You didn’t mind being by yourself since it wasn’t really that big of a deal to you. The first group of people entered and their game begun. Observing from afar, you saw them doing the obstacle course, looking for clues about the fake villain your class made up, etc. Of course, you continued to do your job and look around the area to see if anyone had accidentally entered or was lost.

During your first shift, you had actually ended up helping a lot more people than expected. A lot of guests who weren’t from U.A. had accidentally gotten themselves in the middle of the obstacle courses. Leading them to where the exit was, you would also give them directions to the stalls they were looking for. Your shift ended after 2 and a half hours have passed, you made your way back to the canopy your class set up earlier that day. Looking around, you finally found your small bag and took out your phone. Zipping it shut, someone from afar called out your name.

Turning your head at that direction, it was Uraraka and Hagakure. “We need more water, can you go fetch some more?” She yelled from the distance. Hearing her loud and clear, you shoved your phone inside your pocket, “how much do you guys need?” 

“Momo said there was another cooler filled with water but Kaminari forgot to bring it so it’s still back at the dorms, do you mind getting it?” You nodded, “sure thing.” You start heading back to the Heights Alliance, yeah it was pretty far but since you were on break you didn’t really mind. While walking past the crowd you had met up with a familiar pair of eyes that you haven’t seen in a long time.

“Negire- _senpai_ ,” you said with widened eyes before getting pulled into a hug. “Its been a while, (Y/N)!” She exclaimed with a smile. You hugged her back and met another familiar face who stood behind her. “Amajiki- _senpai_ ,” you greet him with a nod and he greets back. Out of instinct, you start looking around to see if you could find a pair of blue eyes. They noticed which makes her pull away from you, “Mirio will be a little bit late.” Your lips parted followed with a nod. 

“So, what’s your class doing this year?” She asked, cheerful as always. You were about to explain everything to her until you just stopped and let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back part of your head, “y-you see I don’t really know how to explain it myself. It’s like a scavenger hunt, but also an obstacle course, and also something related to a race- it’s complicated.” You smiled sheepishly realizing how confusing your explanation was.

“It’s shocking to see you two here since I heard all the news about your missions. I expected you guys to be busy.” Amajiki shook his head, hands deep inside his pockets, “Fatgum insisted I visit since we’ve been busy all week.” Negire nods her head after before pointing to herself, “I was free today luckily.” 

“How’s Mirio- _senpai_ doing?” You asked. You really only heard rumors about the Big Three of last year and Aizawa wasn’t really the type to announce things like that. You’ve heard that they’ve found a cure for Mirio to get his Quirk back, but also heard that it’ll take a while. “He’s going good! His Quirk is coming back more and more each day that passes.” Amajiki sighed from the side, “wish he’d tone it down a bit though.” Nejire playfully nudges her friend, “you know him more than anyone I’m shocked that you’d be surprised to see Mirio working hard every day.”

He brought his hand to his face and exhaled a breath, “but still.” You smiled lightly at the two until you remembered about the cooler in your dorm. Panicking, your eyes widened as you stumbled in your words, “crap I have to get going they’re probably waiting for me- it was nice catching up, I’ll see you two around!” You wave them goodbye and start running. 

You completely lost track of time and they’re probably dying in the heat. You arrived to the Height Alliance and opened the door, halting almost immediately when you saw that someone was already holding the cooler in their arms. He raised his eyebrows at you, “(Y/N)?” You closed the door behind you, confused. “What are you doing here?” You asked him. 

Shinsou turns his gaze to the cooler that he was carrying before turning it back to you, “I went back here because I forgot my wallet and I happen to see this cooler here so I assumed they forgot to bring it.” You nodded, “yeah they told me to come get it.” He hummed, about to walk out the door but you stopped him, “hey don’t just take away the task given to me like that!” 

He exhaled thru his nose, a smile slowly forming in the corners of his lips, “are you really going to fight me over this?” You squint your eyes at him, “hell yeah I will.” Shinsou takes a deep breath and sighs, dropping the cooler on the ground and looks at you. You look at him in confusion, blinking a few times as silence filled the air between you two. He looks at the time on his phone and shrugs, taking the cooler back in his arms, “time’s up, you didn’t get it in time.”

You looked at him with wide eyes, about to yell at him but he had already walked out of the door. “Are you coming or what?” He asked from outside. Rolling your eyes, you walked out of the door and closed it behind you. You start walking with Shinsou and your face suddenly lights up, turning to look at him, “oh I bumped into the Big Three from last year just a few minutes ago!” You tell him but he doesn’t show any reaction whatsoever. 

He slowly shrugged, “that’s nice, I guess. I never really got to know them unlike you guys.” You paused once you realized, laughing nervously as you rubbed the back of your head, “r-right…” while walking you two passed by a few food stalls. The smell of the food was making it hard for you to continue walking. As much as you wanted to stop for a second to buy something, you still had to bring back the cooler filled with water. 

“Do you want one?” Shinsou’s voice wakes you up from your thoughts, making you turn your head to face him with raised brows. “I have my wallet with me.” He says unfazed. You quickly shook your head, “i-it’s fine! We need to bring the cooler back for them first. They must be dying of thirst.” He nods, “but your shift is over, right?” He asked. You nodded your head, “and yours?” 

He shook his head slowly, lowering it a bit, “nope, I still have to hurry back because Sato took my place while I needed to head back to the dorms.” You looked at him with widened eyes, “then why did you offer to buy me food if you were in a hurry?” He shrugged his shoulders, “it doesn’t seem like the food prep would be long. Plus, you looked like drool was going to come out of your mouth in any moment.” You glared at him while he just smirked at you and sighs, “fine, fine, that was part of the reason.”

“It’s literally scorching hot today.” He deadpans. You raised an eyebrow, “you hate sweating that much?” Shinsou looks at you weirdly as if you said the most bizarre thing, “yes? Who doesn’t hate sweating? It’s uncomfortable.” You hummed, “Bakugou?” He shook his head, “unlike everyone, his Quirk is activated with his sweat so he’s most likely immune to it.” You couldn’t help but laugh at his short rant.

The two of you arrived and he drops the cooler down under the canopy. “You’ve wasted enough time, it’s not fair for Sato.” He sighed and nodded his head weakly, “fine, whatever.” Just when he was about to walk off, you both heard someone calling for you in the distance. You turned your head and saw a familiar face waving at you with the biggest smile on their face.

“Ki-” she pulls you into a tight hug and starts swinging you from left to right, your eyes going wide. Shinsou looks at her with his usual half-lidded and uninterested eyes, but she was too busy hugging you to notice his presence. 

“K-Kim you need to drop me, people are looking at us.” You said in a worried tone, noticing that a few people in school and some guests waiting for their turn on the Scavenger Hunt were looking at your direction. A few of your classmates that were also resting under the canopy had their attention on the both of you. Kim puts you down, smile still on her face while you were getting embarrassed from the amount of attention she just brought upon you.

She notices your red tinted face, making her gently pat you on the head, “you’re still cute as ever.” You take her wrist and push it away gently from your head, “can you stop treating me like a kid? What are you doing here?” You whispered, hoping no one else was listening. Kim gives you a hurt expression, placing her hand on her chest, “you hurt me so much, (Y/N). I just wanted to visit you, that’s all.”

“Don’t you have class though?” She shook her head, “nope I’m all free today. I was just going to spend my time at home, but I heard about your school festival and decided to come visit! It has been months since we last saw each other.” You sighed, “you could’ve texted me. How did you even find me?” Kim hums, “I actually saw you from the distance and I wasn’t sure if it was you. Also, a couple of my friends are here and I kind of lost them while I was following you.”

Your eyes widened, “y-you followed me? Again, you could’ve texted me.” You shut your eyes and sighed while she just giggled. You open them once again and saw someone glaring behind her. To people who were aware of Shinsou, they’d think that that was just how he usually looks at people, but since you’ve known him for over a year now, you’re pretty much aware that he was hating every second of what was happening. 

“Are you free right now?” She asked, changing the subject. You nodded slowly, “yeah but-” before you could finish, she takes your wrist and starts to drag you slowly, “then let’s walk around! Show me around campus.” You looked at her in shock and looked back at your classmates who were just as confused. “Kim, you can’t just drag me-”

She halts and turns around to look at your classmates, “I’ll be borrowing her for an hour, will that be okay?” She points at you as if you were some kind of trophy. You gave them a look that screamed “help” which makes them look at each other. Mina smiled and gives Kim a thumbs up, “sure! Just make sure to give them back before 12PM.” She says proudly. _“You all are hopeless.”_ You thought to yourself before getting dragged by Kim once again, “you got it!”

You had completely forgotten that Mina still has no idea what Kim looks like. Shinsou, who was about to stand up for you, ended up not doing that since Mina opened her mouth first before he could. Sato calls Shinsou over and they both switch.

Kim dragged you around like you were some dog on a leash, it was tiring you. “Can you slow down? Why are you in such a hurry?” You groaned, feelings your heels start to ache. “Well, I want you to meet my friends that’s all.” You couldn’t gather all of your courage to say it, but you were shocked that someone like her could even have any. To be fair she was always known to never shut up and always have things her way. Maybe people were attracted to that.

She stops to think, rubbing her chin as she looked around, “where could they be…” she mumbled to herself while you took this opportunity to rest. You sat down on a bench nearby and exhaled a breath, silently wishing that it would take her 10 minutes to find her friends. “Hey (Y/N), why don’t we just walk around?” 

You looked at her with wide eyes, “w-walk around?” She nods, “unless you’re hungry then I’ll pay!” You stood up from the bench and walked over towards her, “let’s just hurry this up-” your stomach starts to grumble, making you freeze while Kim’s lips start to rise into a grin. You looked down in embarrassment, shutting your eyes closed as you exhaled through your nostrils. 

“I’ll buy you something, come on.” She takes you by the hand this time, but was a lot gentler than she was a few minutes ago. You don’t know why she felt the need to drag you around since it wasn’t like you were going to run away or anything, but you just left her be and continued to be her rag doll. She halts once you two had arrived at the food stalls. Kim turned her head to look at you, “so what do you want?” She asked with a smile.

You start to hum and look around- at this point you were just way too famished to care what you had to indulge. “You pick, I don’t mind anything.” You say and she nods, “you’re not really picky with food so… alright, just wait right there I’ll be right back.” Kim turns her heel and starts walking off at the opposite direction, leaving you alone to just watch her leave.

You heaved a breath, feeling your shoulders immediately lighten the moment you were left alone. You looked around in hopes to find a bench nearby but unfortunately, they were all taken. You just wanted to sit anywhere at this point because you were just standing in the middle of everything like an idiot while people passed by looking at you. Before you could sigh, another voice calls for you.

You lift your eyebrows and turn around, seeing Kendou waving at you with Monoma beside her. You slowly waved back and they stopped in front of you, “hey (Y/N),” she greets you with a smile and you smiled and greeted her back. “Kendou, why are you speaking to a student from Class A?” He whispered but you pretty much heard it loud and clear. She looks at him with a raised brow, “you don’t have to act that way towards her. She’s here all alone.”

Monoma grins and rests his thumb and index finger on his forehead, laughing loudly, “what ever must you mean, dear Kendou?” She rolled her eyes at him and the moment he heard her crack her knuckles he flinches and clears his throat. “Fine, if you insist.” You actually get along with Monoma a lot, but he refuses to admit that. He looks at you finally and starts to look around with squinted eyes before looking back at you again, “wait a second, where’s Shinsou?”

Your eyebrows jump for a second at the sudden question, “oh he’s currently still working. We ended up on opposite shifts.” You explained which makes them nod. “Is it that weird seeing me without him?” You asked with your arms folded before you. He slowly shook his head, “not at all, I just expected to see you two together.” Kendou looked at the time and suddenly tugs on Monoma’s sleeve mid-conversation, causing him to stop talking to you.

“We’d love to continue chatting with you, (Y/N), but we need to be off. Will you be watching the Beauty Pageant?” She asked and you slowly nodded, “I plan to. I wish you the best.” You said to her and start waving them goodbye. Once the two had left you were left alone once again. _Maybe if she gave me time to get my phone I wouldn’t be standing here looking like an idiot-_

“I’m back!” She says with two containers filled with Takoyaki in her hands. You look at her as you take the boat-shaped container from her, nodding your head while thanking her. “If you’re still hungry after that, just tell me so I can buy you some more or something else.” You looked at her with furrowed brows, “you don’t have to do that.” She swats her hands at you as she shook her head, “please it’s the least I can do.”

You’d question her more, but the smell of the Takoyaki was making your mouth water, making it almost impossible for you to talk until you take a bite. You take the small chopsticks inside the container and pick one up, taking a bite but stopped once you heard a click sound. You look up and notice that she had taken a selfie of both of you while you still had food in your mouth. “Hey I wasn’t ready!” You looked at her while she just giggled.

She shows you the photo and you weren’t even looking at the camera since you were too busy drooling over the food. “Delete that.” You glare at her while chewing. She scoffed, “and delete this cute photo of you? You wish.” Kim puts the phone back inside her pocket and starts eating with you. 

“Don’t you want to sit somewhere?” She asks you. That’s right, you were too busy indulging the food to even realize that you were eating while standing up, no longer bothering with your surroundings. You nod your head, cheeks stuffed with food. She starts leading you to a vacant bench where you two sat down. In just a minute, you only had 2 left. She notices that you’ve folded your container so it was fully covered.

“You’re already full?” She asked. You shook your head, “nah I’m actually planning to give this to Toshi. He’s probably dying in the heat right now…” you said before leaning your head back. “Toshi?” She gives you a questioning look. You slowly nod, “yeah, Shinsou.” Her lips parted into an “o” shape as she nods, “Oh, right. I forget that he’s here with you.” You nodded, “he’s actually in the hero course now.” Kim gives you a shocked look, eyes widened, “really?” She asked, her tone filled with interest.

You nodded, “we’re classmates now.” She hummed and hands you her food. She had only eaten 3 so you give her a confused look. “Eat it. I’m sure you’re just as hungry as him if not even more.” She wiped her lips using a piece of tissue while you just looked down at it. “Are you sure? I’m really fine-” she scoffs, “please I know you enough to know that you’re still hungry. So, dig in.” 

You give her one more questioning look before eating it up. You decided to save one for Shinsou so now he had three. “When does your shift start again? She asked. You both got up from the bench as you looked at the time on her phone, “in forty minutes. I’ll just hand this to Toshi and I can give you a tour around U.A.” 

She smiles widely, “thank you!”

You both made it to the back of the school where your class was holding the hunt. They all notice you and start to wave. You start walking fast and stopped in front of them, “hey, is it still going on?” You asked and they nodded. You squint your eyes and looked around to see if you could spot a speck of indigo somewhere.

You see him and was about to walk over there until you remembered Kim was following you. You turn around to face her, “Kim, can you wait here for a sec? You’re not allowed to enter and-” she nods before you could finish, “Of course, I understand. I’ll be here waiting.” In your peripheral vision you saw the cooler and decided to take out a bottle of water.

“Are you giving that to Shinsou?” Sero asks you and you nodded. You start heading over to where he was and noticed that he was chatting with Uraraka. He notices you approaching and you wave towards them. The two of them wave back and you turn to Uraraka, “crap if I’ve known you two were together, I would’ve gotten another water bottle.”

Her eyes quickly widen as she shook her flushed head, “it’s completely fine! I actually just finished drinking.” You nodded and handed the water bottle to Shinsou who takes it from you without hesitation. He opens the cap and chugs it down his system, beads of sweat rolling down his face. 

“You’re really… dying, huh.” He shoots you a quick glare before pulling the bottle away, wiping the excess water from his now damp lips with his forearm. “Uraraka, we need your assistance!” Midoriya yelled from the distance which makes all of you turn your heads. She quickly starts to run in their direction in panic.

He notices that you were holding something with your other hand and points at it, “what’s that?” You looked down at the folded-up container and opened it up, “it’s Takoyaki. I ended up saving some for you since you were probably dying under the sun.” He looks at you with raised brows, taking it from you without saying a word. He looks down at it and you looked at him oddly, not knowing why he was so quiet.

Shinsou sighs, “I appreciate your kindness, but did you really think giving me something hot would help me under the sun?” You froze, now realizing how stupid you are. “Crap, uhh- forget about it, I’ll just go and buy you ice cream since I saw a stall selling some popsicles-”

Before you could finish, he takes a bite and starts to chew. “Dumbass, you don’t need to eat it.” He shrugged, “it’s fine, it’ll be too troublesome if I made you go back and forth.” You heaved a breath, “but still.” He swallows and looks down at it, “so how much was this? I’ll pay you back later.”

“Oh, I didn’t pay for that. Kim actually bought tha-” Shinsou’s expression quickly dropped into a disgusted one. He suddenly stopped chewing it and you noticed, “that’s mean.” You tell him but he isn’t fazed by it at all. “You two are still hanging out?” He asked and you slowly nodded, “I told her that I needed to give you some food before I gave her a tour around campus.” 

He furrowed his brows at you, “you’re still going to go back there and hangout with her?” He was no longer bothering to hide the annoyed tone in his voice. You nodded once again, “yeah and she’s waiting for me right now.” He sighed, “sure, go ahead.”

You looked at him strangely, _“why is he suddenly gloomy?”_

“What do you mean by that?” Shinsou takes another bite and doesn’t reply until he was done chewing. “Go spend time with Kim, she’s probably _dying_ there waiting for you.” He turned the other way to roll his eyes. You took a deep breath, “I get that you don’t get along with Kim, but I uhh… promise you that we’ll hangout after this is all over?” 

“You’re making me sound petty, you know that, right?” You couldn’t help but laugh, “it’s because you sound like a child who’s not getting what he wants. We both have 1 more shift and this will all be over. We can go around and enjoy the festival afterwards.” He finally looks back at you but his eyes were blank and seemed to be more tired than usual. You sighed, “no, Kim won’t be with us, I’ll make sure of it.”

And just like that he seemed a lot more contented, “fine. Now leave. I feel like the more time you waste here the more she’s going to bother you.” You smiled, “whatever.”

* * *

Luckily afternoon shifts were now an hour long. You were sat down under the canopy waiting for Shinsou to finish his since you were done with yours. You ended up playing UNO with Hagakure, Mina, Sero, and Kirishima. The fun game you all played the first few minutes somehow turned into a tournament that involved money. 

“And… Kirishima is out!” Mina announces loudly while he just groans in the background. Sero gently pats his friend in the back, “it’s okay, you tried.” Kirishima sighs in pain as he slides his money towards Mina who was collecting all of the cash from the side. “Is… gambling allowed in this school?” You looked around worriedly.

They scoffed, “for the millionth time, (Y/N), it’s not but if they don’t find out then we’re good.” You heaved a breath, “I just don’t like where this is going.” Mina hushes you, “you still have a chance in becoming champion and if you do become one, we can both split the cash and-”

“Ashido.” Someone from behind says in the deepest voice. Everyone flinches in fear, knowing exactly who that voice belonged to. Mina quickly got up and laughed nervously, “A-Aizawa- _sensei_ ,” she rubbed the back of her head while your teacher glares at her. 

“Aizawa- _sensei_? What brings you here?” Momo asked which makes him avert his attention elsewhere. “I came here to tell you guys that you can stop your booth now. Principal Nezu decided that the students should be allowed to walk around and have their free time now.” And just like that everyone started to pack up.

You were done with your tasks in no time and headed back to the canopy with a box in your hands. You put it down where everything else was and exhaled a breath. “Alright, I’ll come over to your dorm to pick her up later. Eri, be good, alright?” Aizawa says to her as he gently pats her head. She smiled softly at him and nods.

Shinsou gets low to get on the same eye level as Eri to tell her something but you couldn’t hear. You grabbed your bag and headed towards the two. The moment Eri sees you her face automatically lights up before hugging on your leg. Shinsou was not expecting that at all and so did you. 

You looked down and start rubbing her back, “did you miss me that much?” She looks up and rests her chin on your leg nodding with a bright smile. “You two have met each other?” He asks with his brows raised. You nodded and start to give Eri head pats, “we met last year when Aizawa- _sensei_ needed someone to watch over her and so he brought her to the dorms. Everyone else seemed busy so I ended up taking care of her that time.”

Eri suddenly spreads her arms in the air as her smile widens, “(Y/N) made me float around and it was super, super amazing! You should’ve seen me, ToshTosh!” Your eyes widened in interest, turning to look at Shinsou, “ _ToshTosh_ you say?” You asked in a teasing way which makes his face flush red. 

“E-Eri, I don’t think that’s,” he forces out a laugh, trying to play it cool like nothing happened. “Does Aizawa- _sensei_ have a meeting?” You asked. Shinsou nodded, “he actually made the Big Three from last year watch over her, but they all had to leave early because their agencies were calling.” You nodded your head slowly while Eri was still standing by your side.

“I’m glad you two already know each other, it saves me from introducing.” He says followed with a sigh. “I’m assuming you’d meet Eri a lot because of your practices with Aizawa.” Shinsou nods, “you’re correct.” Eri suddenly starts to pull on your index, trying to get your attention. You look down at her with a smile.

“ToshTosh and I would also play tea party with me! And we would even play dress up-” Shinsou covers the child’s mouth before she could finish, laughing loudly as he again, tries to hide his flushed face, “Eri, I think there’s a caramel apple stand not far from here, do you want one?” He takes his hand off from her lips as she nodded, now pulling on both of your fingers as she dragged you both. 

While Shinsou was buying the candied apples, you two were seated somewhere while you were braiding Eri’s hair as she swung her tiny legs around. “You’re really good at braiding, (Y/N).” She compliments. You couldn’t help but smile, “thank you, Eri. I’m glad to see that Aizawa- _sensei_ is taking good care of your hair. It’s as soft as ever.” You were finally done braiding her hair and she smiles.

Shinsou comes back with two caramel apples, Eri jumps up from her seat and runs towards him in excitement. “Make sure to eat it slow, alright? You remember what happened last time.” She nods before heading back to sit beside you. He hands you yours and you take it, “are you sure giving her candied apples is a good idea? I mean, I’m more than sure that Mirio and the others have bought her a lot…” you said in a worried tone.

“It’s fine, as long as she stops saying anything embarrassing, I’m okay with it.” You looked at him and laughed, “you should’ve told me! I would’ve gladly joined.” He sighs, clearly annoyed by you, “this is exactly why I didn’t want you knowing.” Eri tugs on your shirt which makes you turn your head to look at her. 

“Can you use your Quirk on me like last time?” She asked with sparkling eyes. You giggled, picking her up by her sides to place her between you and Shinsou, “of course! After you’re done eating.” Eri starts eating faster, making you immediately regret ever saying that. “Eri, your clothes.” Shinsou warns her, taking his handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe the glaze off from her face.

“Are you not eating any, ToshTosh?” She asks in a soft voice. He shook his head, “I’m not feeling very hungry right now, Eri, don’t worry about me.” She pouts, “do you want mine instead? I don’t mind giving it to you.” You felt your heart melt, Eri truly was the cutest child you have ever met. “You can take a bite.” She holds the stick with her two hands, pushing it to Shinsou.

Giving in, he leans forward and takes a bite from the candied apple. “How is it?” Shinsou licks the sweetness off from his lips and nods, “it’s good.” 

After a while, you all decided it was time to walk around. Shinsou suddenly squats down, “get on,” Eri without hesitation, jumps on Shinsou’s back and he giving her a piggyback ride. You looked up and saw how happy she was. Compared to last year, she didn’t even know how to smile but fast forward to now, that seems to be her only expression now. 

“You better not get anything on my hair, alright?” Eri just hums in response. “She really likes being on high places, huh.” You comment on before throwing your trash away on the bin you passed by at. “She really does.” Eri was swinging her legs around but they weren’t so rough to the point it was making Shinsou struggle. 

“ToshTosh, look it’s a cat!” she points at the side. You and Shinsou turn your heads towards the booth and noticed that they were selling the same cat keychains from last year. “Let’s buy one for Eraser!” She says happily. Shinsou nodded, “why don’t you pick out something for him?” He gets low so she can easily hop off. Eri makes her way towards the various selections of cats and you couldn’t help but remember the one you picked out for him last year.

“This one!” She points at a black cat that was sleeping inside of a yellow sleeping bag. You looked at it and turned to Shinsou, “these keychains are getting weirdly accurate every time…” you notice another one from the far back and pull it out. “Look Eri, this cat looks a lot like you.” You point to the white fluffy cat that had an apple on its mouth.

“Yup… it’s getting more and more accurate…” Shinsou says after he saw the two keychains together. After the seller placed it inside a tiny paper bag bag, Eri puts it inside her bag. “Where are we going now?” She asked, holding onto Shinsou’s pointer and middle finger. He turns to look at you which catches you off guard. “Do you still have some place to go?”

You shook your head, “I’ve pretty much checked everything out because of Kim…” you laughed nervously. Eri tilts her head at your direction, “who’s Kim?” Shinsou sighs, his mood ruined slightly, “just someone you don’t need to know, Eri.” You looked at him but he doesn’t bother to look back at you.

“Should we head back to the do-”

“(Y/N)! You’re here.” You stopped your steps once you realized that it was Kim. “Oh, and you’re with Shinsou and…” she looks down at Eri who quickly hides behind Shinsou in fear, peaking her head slightly. “I thought you had already left.” 

“I did, but then I saw that shop and saw something that reminded me of you!” She starts to dig inside her bag and you noticed that there were a group of people waiting for her. Those were her friends, you assumed. Kim finally finds it and takes it out, putting it on the palm of your hand.

You look down at it and your eyes widened. “Do you like it?” She smiled widely. You flashed a nervous smile and laugh, “y-yeah, it’s perfect. Thank you, Kim.” Shinsou who saw what she had given you was getting more and more furious. She looked over at Eri again and approaches her, “hi, what’s your name? I’m Kim, one of (Y/N)’s closest fri-”

“Kim, hurry up, we’re going to miss the train.” One of her friends called. She quickly turned around at them, “right, I almost forgot!” She waves you goodbye, “see you next time, (Y/N)! Oh, and you too Shinsou.” Kim finally turns around to meet up with her friends and they all eventually left. 

“Toshi…” you said in a worried tone, turning your head to look at him who was glaring at Kim from the distance. “Was that K-Kim?” Eri stutters, no longer behind Shinsou. You nodded which makes her look at Shinsou, “I… don’t like her.” And just like that Shinsou’s mood was brought up again, ruffling Eri’s hair as he starts to hold onto her hand again, “lets head back to the dorm.”

* * *

You and Eri ended up passed out on Shinsou’s bed, snoring lightly under the same blanket while Shinsou was seated on the floor using his phone. You ended up using your Quirk on Eri to make her fly all over the place, using it a lot longer than you thought since you started to feel sleepy. It wasn’t just your Quirk, but it was also draining to be dragged around my Kim all over the place.

Eri’s energy finally came to a full stop, falling asleep with you. Shinsou ended up carrying you both individually to his room since his bed was much cozier than the couch in the common room. 

While he was scrolling through his gallery, looking back at the photos he took of you and Eri, he was caught off guard by something warm. The tiny hand moves his so she could see what he was smiling at on his phone, “is that me and (Y/N)?” Eri asks. Shinsou slowly nodded, lying to Eri would be useless since she already saw anyway.

“Did I wake you up? You should go back to sleep until Eraser comes back.” She shook her head, “I just saw that ToshTosh was really happy today and I wanted to thank him.” Shinsou turned his device off and gently pats her on the head, “you’re always welcome, Eri.”

He slowly picks her up and makes her sit on his lap. “Seeing ToshTosh finally smile makes me happy.” Shinsou raises his eyebrows, “what do you mean?” She stretched her arms in the air followed by a yawn, “when I met you last year, you always had this painful look on your face… and you were always so serious.” Her eyes start to close slowly.

“The way ToshTosh looks at (Y/N)… I’ve never seen him look at someone in that way before. His eyes were shining and he was smiling… like how I look at candied apples.” Shinsou couldn’t help but smile lightly, rubbing her back so she can drift to sleep. “I’m glad ToshTosh finally has someone…” she says before finally passing out in Shinsou’s arms. 

They stay like that for a minute before he finally gets up and puts Eri beside you on his bed, tucking her in. Getting stroking her hair, he smiles softly. _“I’m glad too, Eri.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a long one but i hope the ending was worth it <3 as always kudos and comments are appreciated since they give me fuel and motivation hehe


	40. Spa Day

“Hey, check this out.” You rolled to your stomach on your bed to look at what Shinsou was showing you on his phone. You read the article to yourself mumbling before your expression drops, eyes rolling before you laid back down on your bed, “bullshit.” You said bitterly while he looks at the article again.

“’Endeavor #1 Hero Saves The Day Again’ my ass.” You quoted with your fingers followed by another scoff. He couldn’t help but chuckle at your tone, he always knew that you had this hatred towards him so to tease you, Shinsou would send you articles about him whenever he got the chance to. “He’s the most rude and egotistical pro here there is. I’ve seen all sorts of stories about him online and they were all from his ex-interns!”

He hummed before turning his device off to stretch his arms in the air, “I can’t say you’re not wrong about him.” You heaved a breath, “I’ve encountered him once and I’d rather not have that experience again.” Shinsou chuckles, “it was during the sports festival, correct?”

You groaned loudly, covering your eyes with the palm of your hands in anger, “don’t make me remember, please.” Your phone lets out a ‘ding’, making you check who had texted you. 

**Mina**  
_boom_

You looked at her text bewilderedly, “huh—”

The door suddenly bursts open which startles you both. “W-What are you two—” Mina lets out a loud laugh, “we’ve come here to abduct you!” She says proudly while pointing at the ceiling with the biggest smile on her face. “Oh— hi Shinsou!” She waved her hand at him while he just gives her a subtle nod.

She and Hagakure looked at your room before your pink friend sighs, putting her hands on her hips as she gives you a look of disappointment, “don’t tell me you forgot.” You blinked a few times and looked at Shinsou who seemed as confused as you, shrugging. You turned back to look at Mina who was tapping her feet in anticipation.

Letting out a nervous laugh, you rubbed on the back of your head and got out of bed, “o-of course I didn’t forget. Why would I ever—” Mina cuts you off by grabbing hold of your shoulders before shaking you back and forth, “we don’t have enough time, I need your Quirk! Some of the boys already found out about what today is and are all hiding.” 

You start to process the new information she just poured out before something finally clicks in your head. “Should I be worried?” Shinsou joins in the conversation. Next thing he knew all eyes were on him and he had this feeling inside of him that something bad was going to happen. 

“He’s new though, are you sure you want to do it to him?” You asked but Hagakure just shakes her head, “that’s what makes this even more exciting and interesting.” Mina follows with a nod, “and we’ve never really done it to a guy like Shinsou so this will be fun! We just need two more…” the two of your friends start to think to themselves while you decided to take this chance to walk over to Shinsou.

“You guys don’t plan on cooking me for dinner, do you?” He asks jokingly which makes you heave a breath, “it’s nothing like that, I promise. Plus, I’m sure you’ll have a good time.” He looks at you with furrowed brows but says nothing, afraid to ask any more questions. 

Mina suddenly pulls you closer to her and starts whispering in your ear, “I need your Quirk to capture two more boys, but do you think Shinsou is gonna try and escape?” You look over to Shinsou who was still seated on the floor, looking up at you with a raised indigo brow. You shook your head lightly, “I don’t think he’s going to bother.” 

Hagakure looks at you weirdly, “what do you mean?” You decided to give up the whole act, “Toshi, we’re going to force you to have a Spa Day with the girls. Are you okay with that?” Mina and Hagakure look at you with wide eyes, “you can’t just tell him that! Now he’s going to—”

“Sure,”

Two of your lady friends let out exaggerated gasps. You shrugged simply, “I told you he doesn’t care.” Mina and Hagakure start squealing loudly before pulling Shinsou up from his seated position. “Let’s go now!” Mina says excitedly while pulling Shinsou behind her. 

“W-Wait, Mina— I give up.” You sighed, closing your door and followed them from behind with Hagakure beside you. 

“Alright, ladies. We have obtained one!” Mina announces while Shinsou just stood there. Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of Shinsou, not expecting him at all. “H-How did you manage to convince Shinsou?” Jirou asked worriedly. 

You and Hagakure finally arrived and the moment your friends saw you they all just nodded their heads. “Is (Y/N) that powerful that she managed to make Shinsou say yes?” Tsuyu asked which makes everyone giggle. You heard and just sighed, “to tell you all the truth Toshi just doesn’t care much about these things.” 

You all entered Uraraka’s room and closed the door. Usually you and your friends would get 2 to 3 boys from your class and force them into your Spa Day, but most of them hate the idea of it and have made it tradition to hide from the girls once they hear one of you mention it. The only boys that were willing to join were Aoyama, Midoriya, and Todoroki, but it didn’t end up as planned.

Midoriya was too nervous so he ended up never relaxing at all and was red the whole time. Todoroki didn’t know what the cucumbers were for so he ended up snacking on them all without anyone even realizing. And lastly, Aoyama was just too much to handle. 

Everyone was gathered around Shinsou, mostly criticizing the prominent dark circles under his eyes. “Your skin is pretty smooth, but it could be softer.” Hagakure comments on. They all nodded, “and you could use a hair treatment. Your hair is all over the place.” Shinsou raises a brow, “isn’t it always though?” 

“Yeah, but it’s not as soft as I imagined it to be.” You look at them in shock, “you don’t find his hair soft? Seems pretty soft to me already.” Momo nods, “it is, but it’s not exactly the healthiest.” Shinsou shrugs, “do anything you want, I guess.” And just like that, everyone knew that this was going to be the best Spa Day yet.

* * *

Shinsou just finished his hair treatment with Momo and Tsuyu so now he was drying his hair with a towel. They all looked at him with sparkling eyes, “this is the first time I’m seeing Shinsou with his hair down!” Uraraka says with fascination in her voice while Tsuyu sits him down by the mirror. 

“Don’t you ever get tired of styling your hair to look like that every day? If you’re lazy to style it, shouldn’t you just leave it down?” Mina asked, playing with his still damped hair. He shrugged his shoulders, “it just never felt right to me. I’m more comfortable with my current hair so it’s all good.” 

Tsuyu turns the hairdryer on which fills the room up with its noise. You were on your phone most of the time while talking to your friends. They noticed too but it wasn’t until now that they asked what you were doing. “What did we say about no phone during Spa Day?” Mina says to you which makes you look up from your phone. 

“Crap, I’m really sorry about that but it’s just something important.” Tsuyu overhears even though the hairdryer was pretty loud, making her turn the machine off. “Something important? Who could you be texting though?” 

You looked down at your device, “it’s Miss Midnight. She’s contacting me about something important outside of school.” Uraraka gasps, “is she assigning you to do another mission with her like last year?” You slowly shrugged your shoulders hesitantly, “I’m… not so sure.”

Mina laughs and lands a smack on your back, “tell her your chat can wait since we’re having a Spa Day.” You glared at her, “do you want me fired?” Everyone in the room laughs at your respond to your pink friend. 

Once Tsuyu was done drying his hair, everyone started feeling it. “So?” Shinsou asks, looking at everyone’s faces while they touched his hair thru the mirror in front. “It’s the softest thing I have ever felt!” Uraraka and Mina exclaimed at the same time. “It’s so much better than earlier.” Jirou adds. 

“(Y/N), why don’t you handle Shinsou’s face?” They start handing you the products you need all at once. “S-Sure?” You look at them weirdly while they all just give you wide grins. Before you knew it they all separated into groups and did their own spa activities, leaving everything to you. You can’t be mad though since you didn’t help out with anything else. 

He looks at you with his tired yet curious eyes, “so… how is this going to work?” He asks. “Oh, uhh, do you prefer to sit or lie down? It all depends on you.” He hummed and looked around the room, “lying down.” You lead him towards the bed and you sat down by the headboard, patting on your thighs, “put your head here.”

Shinsou does as told and settles his head on your lap, his even fluffier hair tickling them. You start doing your usual routine, applying a cleanser on his face, exfoliating, steaming, and putting a face mask on him. 

While you were doing all of those procedures on focus mode, you didn’t notice Shinsou looking up at you. There were times where you were so close to his face that he just had to look away to avoid feeling embarrassed. There was something about your fingers delicately treating his face that made him feel something. It was a feeling he couldn’t quite describe into words. 

He knew that this wasn’t the first time he has felt something like this. Just a week ago, he felt this same strong emotion inside of him. It was when you two spent time with Eri and seeing you play and talk to her warmed his heart; it even at some point ached.

“Shinsou, did you hear.” Mina calls out to him. He snapped out of your trance and hummed in response. You grab two slices of cucumber beside you and show them to Shinsou so he could shut his eyes. You gently place them and he exhales a breath, feeling comfortable on your lap. “Did you hear about the rumors about Aizawa- _sensei_ with Ms. Joke?” 

Shinsou hums again, thinking to himself. “I think I have, but I didn’t really think much of it. It’d be weird if I snooped into my mentor’s personal matters.” She whines, “but aren’t you curious though? Maybe you know something and you’re hiding it from us!” 

“I really don’t. Whenever we’re training by ourselves nothing really happens. It’s always just us.” Mina groaned, annoyed that she couldn’t get information out of the indigo boy, “you’re no fun.” He chuckles, “I get that a lot.” 

“Don’t act so smug about it, jerk!” She fires back which only makes Shinsou grin even more.

This was also the first time the girls have ever properly conversed with Shinsou and they’re already liking him a lot. He was very open about all of their questions and even joined in with the gossip. He fit in surprisingly well, even you were shocked. 

“(Y/N) don’t you want to be treated too?” Tsuyu asked you from the side while she was tending Jirou’s hair. You quickly shook your head, “no, I’m completely fine.” Shinsou takes a cucumber off his eyes so he could look up at you, “you sure? I can try doing the thing you did to me.” He says before snacking on the cucumber. 

You heaved a breath, “it’s all good.” He takes the other slice and raises it towards your mouth, “say aah,” you take it away from him, “that was just from your eye, idiot.” He shrugged as he continued to eat it. The timer on your phone goes off so you start removing his facemask, “that was supposed to be for your eyebags, but…” 

He swallows, and looks up at you with his purple orbs, “you don’t think it suits me?” 

Your eyes widen, quickly turning the other way as you feel your face start to heat up, “o-of course they suit you.” You didn’t know what had just gotten over you. Maybe it was just because he just got done with his facial, but he was beautiful. You knew that from the start, but he was practically glowing now. 

It wasn’t just his face, but his eyes as well. The way they looked at you, it made you feel like putty. His Quirk is only activated verbally, but you swear he could hypnotize someone with just his eyes. You’ve been friends with him for over a year now and you still get lost in those purple orbs of his. 

He noticed how embarrassed that question made you so he just chuckles smugly, taking another bite from the slice in his hand. 

Now that his facial was over, you felt much lighter than you were a few seconds ago. Were you holding your breath the whole time? You’ve never really laid a finger on his face apart from the times you’d poke him to get his attention when he’s zoning out, but you were massaging it. 

The way he looks when he had his eyes shut while you gently massaged his features, it was calming. The rise and fall of his chest as you would some times feel air escape his nose. It almost felt like perfection. 

It was starting to get late and you decided it was time for you to leave. You wish everyone a goodnight and Shinsou said his thanks. He closes the door behind himself and starts walking you back to your room. “So, how was your first Spa Day experience?” You asked him with a smile.

He hummed, “surprisingly more relaxing than I thought it would be.” You couldn’t help but laugh, “seems like the girls like you a lot and find you fun to be around with. I’m sure you’ll be invited to the next one.” He smiles lightly, “I’m looking forward to it.” 

You suddenly felt goosebumps all over, causing you to stop moving. Shinsou notices and stops shortly after, looking back at you with lifted brows, “did you forget something?” You don’t respond. Instead, you turn around and aim your hand towards something bright in the hallway.

“OW, OW, OW, OW!” Kaminari yelled in pain as you used your Quirk to drag him by the ends of his hair. You stopped using it once you realized who it was. Exhaling a breath, “you scared me.” He starts to whine, “you didn’t have to be so aggressive!”

You shrugged your shoulders, “it’s not my fault I caught you eavesdropping.” He rubbed a part of his scalp that was hurting. “Why were you eavesdropping?” Shinsou asks with a brow raised. He takes a deep breath and gives up the act.

“I heard from Sero that apparently the girls captured you and forced you into their Spa Day. I found out a little too late, but when I heard that you still didn’t come back, I decided to check up on you because I thought they killed you!” 

You and Shinsou exchange the same concerned looks to each other before turning your gazes back to Kaminari. “Nothing bad happened.” He says. Kaminari suddenly turns to you and points at you, “it was because of her, isn’t it?” 

You furrowed your brows as you glared at him, “what do you mean by that exactly?” He starts laughing nervously, “I didn’t mean it in a bad way!” Shinsou sighs and starts explaining everything to him. His expression doing a whole 180.

“So what you’re telling me is… they didn’t hurt you, used you as a slave, forced you to wash their feet, and… you had a good time?” He tilts his head slightly with a shrug, “I guess you could say that.” His hand lands on his chest with a relieved breath, “thank god.” 

“I need to tell the others about this.” You looked at him weirdly, “you’re gonna go into their rooms individually just to tell them that Toshi had a good time?” He laughs, “no silly, I’m going back to our meeting spot and tell them there. They’re all waiting for me to return.” 

You were even more concerned, “m-meeting place? Hold on— you guys actually have a place where you hide from us and—” he laughs nervously, “I-I gotta go!” And just like that he starts running the opposite direction. You heaved a long breath while Shinsou just chuckles from the side.

“You men really do have a weird way of thinking. Is that how you all think about Spa Day?” He shoved his hands inside his pockets, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never really thought much about women until I met you, so.” You froze before looking up at him, “what do you mean by that?” 

He hummed and turned his back at you, “for starters, you’re _way_ off from what our other classmates think of what a woman is.” You don’t notice but he starts to walk away with a wide grin on his lips. “I made you rest on my lap while they cramp and this is how you’re repaying me?” You start catching up to him. 

“I’d take it as a compliment though. You’re not like many people I’ve met, so take the compliment and stop whining.” You glared at him even more, “you’re such a jerk.” He couldn’t help but burst out laughing, “well, this jerk is your best friend.” 

You failed to hold back a smile, shaking your head disappointedly, “unfortunately, he is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa sorry for the lack of updates, i'm really busy with school and i have a lot on my plate : ( hopefully this chapter made up for it <3 ofc kudos and comments are well appreciated, they make my day and motivate me to write hehe


	41. Unnamed Mission

You opened your eyes to the sound of your classmates arguing in the hallway. Slowly getting up while groaning, you rubbed your eyes with the back of your hands, trying to block the noise as much as you can but ultimately failing. With a sigh, you flip the blanket off of you and slide your bare feet into your house slippers, lazily dragging them towards the door.

You opened the door yawning, not bothering to check yourself in the mirror if you even had drool on you or if your hair was of a bird’s nest. “Dumbasses, I told you all that trash day was moved to yesterday!” Bakugou yelled angrily, pointing at the stack of garbage bags in the middle of the hall in disgust.

“We didn’t know, man. Let’s just all take a breather and calm down-” Kirishima tries but gets cut off by Bakugou who attempts to walk past him to fight the others that stood behind the red head. Your vision was still blurry and all you could see were speck of colors moving around. 

“You fully awake yet?” A voice from beside you makes you jump a little. You turn your head to the side and your vision starts to settle. “Ah, it’s you.” You say in relief as Shinsou just quirks an indigo brow at you with his hands folded on his chest. 

“What time did you arrive this time?” You flutter your eyelashes a few times, trying to stay awake, not even realizing that he was talking to you. He heaves a breath when he saw that you didn’t hear his question, placing his hand on top of your head to move it so you were looking at him again. “Did you hear me?” 

Your shocked expression was a clear answer to him, words not leaving your lips as you try to think of a reply. “What time did your patrol end?” He repeats, letting go of you. You hummed and looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall. 

“Hey frizzy head, did you throw your trash yesterday?” Bakugou interrupts your conversation, his arm stretched out and pointing at Shinsou who wasn’t fazed by him at all. “No, no I did not.” He replied without a problem which makes the blond even angrier than before, small explosions emitting from the palm of his hands.

“I did, but I just wanted to piss you off.” He adds but he says it in a lower voice so Bakugou doesn’t hear him at all. You were looking around trying to remember, “I don’t know the specific time, but… I do remember it being 10PM the last time I checked the time yesterday.” 

Shinsou shakes his head disapprovingly followed by a sigh, “are you sure you’re okay with that? You can always complain.” You scoffed, “you’re worried too much. I told you, I’m fine. I’m just tired that’s all.” You try to assure him but he doesn’t seem moved by you at all, his brows drawing closer. 

He sighed, “then if my prediction is correct, you were most likely home by 2AM.” You look up at him with astonished eyes, “really?” You sound more surprised than he is. He slowly nods, “I couldn’t sleep like usual and so I decided it would be best if I got myself a cup of water and the moment I left my dorm I heard another door shut, but no one was out but me.” 

You rubbed your chin and hummed, “maybe that was me.” You mumbled to yourself, trying to think more about it. Shinsou sighs again, “I’m starting to worry for you. Exams are next week and I doubt you even started studying.” You swat your hand followed by a scoff, playfully landing a slap on his arm, “I already studied.”

He shakes his head, “that’s not what I meant. What I mean is that, **you** need to rest your mind and body. You’re doing too many things at the same time it’s exhausting you.” He suddenly leans forward and gets on the same eye level as you, “your circles are darkening more and more I’m starting to think that you’re becoming my competition.” He jokes. 

Your mind was no longer present so without thinking or realizing you blurt out, “am I ugly?” Your hands reach up to your cheeks and start to cup them. He looks at you in shock, not knowing what to say. “Cause if you think I’m ugly with eyebags, what does that make you?” You say a little more aggressive that you initially planned but he doesn’t take offense to this.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, “well, believe it or not, these suit me. Eyebags on you? Maybe a little bit… but I preferred it when you didn’t look like a walking corpse.” Before you could fight back, a yell from down the hall makes everyone freeze. All heads turn to the side and eyes meet a pair.

“What’s all this ruckus about?” It was Aizawa, a cute Eri standing behind him, her head peaking as her tiny little hands were all scrunched up on the man’s pants. Everyone immediately faced him and bowed in greeting. He looks at everyone with his tired eyes, visible irritation behind them until his gaze stops at you. 

“(L/N),” his voice makes you flinch, raising your eyebrows at him in caution. “I need to speak with you privately. Shinsou, I need you and the rest to watch over Eri for a little while.” Eri runs towards the indigo boy who willingly takes her hand in his, nodding. Aizawa shoves his hands inside his pockets, turning around and starts walking. 

Quickly, you start catching up to him, leaving your classmates behind. You felt your heartbeat raising the more steps you both took, feeling the tension. What could be so important that he had to go to the Heights Alliance this early in the morning? You kept asking yourself. 

Once you two were finally out of the building, you still in your pajamas, he finally turns to face you, “how did the mission go last night?” You look at him in shock before finally responding. “It went alright. We still haven’t caught anyone suspicious.” He hums to your response, eyes moving the other direction making you furrow your brows at him slightly.

“ _Sensei_ , if you don’t mind me asking, what are we exactly looking for? In fact, who is it? Miss Midnight still hasn’t given me full detail about the mission and has only requested me to be on guard and patrol every night.” Aizawa wasn’t showing much of a reaction to your words. He was hard to read like usual.

“I think it’s best that way for now.” He gently places his hand on your shoulder and pats it lightly. “But _sensei_ wouldn’t it be better if I—” he cuts you off by other pat, “that’s enough. I might be your teacher, but that doesn’t make me your mentor. If anyone has to tell you the details, it’s Midnight, got it?” His tone was harmless and calm, but there was still this bitter feeling inside of you.

Keeping your mouth shut, you knew it was best if you just gave up and didn’t continue. Aizawa notices your defeated expression, his hand hovering over your head before ruffling your hair lightly, “don’t think too much about it. Your exams are in a week and you already have so much on your plate, don’t add any more.” And just like that he starts walking away while you watched him leave.

Your nightly patrolling has been going on for almost a week now. It started when you received that text from Midnight during your Spa Day with the girls and Shinsou. 

**Miss Midnight**  
_I need to talk to you. It’s important._

**You**  
_Miss Midnight? What could it be?_

**Miss Midnight**  
_I can’t tell you right now, but I need you to come to my agency tomorrow morning at 9AM._

**Miss Midnight** attached a location.

It was out of nowhere and when you looked at the address it led straight to her agency. You knew right away that this had to be something hero related, because if it were for school, she would’ve just messaged you about it or even talked to you about it after class. 

Once you arrived at the certain location, you were greeted by familiar faces. Faces you’ve met last year aka your first time being a sidekick in Midnight’s agency. She explained everything to you, but all of the information was vague as ever. 

“Is there a new villain?” You asked her but she simply just shakes her head at you, “I can’t tell you anything about that. I just need you to patrol the city and report right away if you see anything suspicious happening.” Was her go-to line no matter what. Any question you ask, she’ll automatically change the subject or repeat the same line. Over and over again. 

You didn’t mind going on patrols even though it took a toll on your sleeping schedule, what bothered you was the lack of information they were giving you. What if something was happening and you didn’t do anything to stop it because you weren’t aware of a certain information? What if a bomb just went off and you had no idea it even existed? 

Needless to say, you did your best to try to get any piece of information you can, but you’re nowhere near successful. Not even a single crumb. There had been times where you tried to eavesdrop when you had the chance (you still feel guilty about it), but they would always know when you’re around for whatever reason. 

You walked back inside the Heights Alliance and saw that Shinsou was waiting for you with his arms crossed on his chest while talking to Kaminari. You close the door behind you which makes them stop their conversation when they heard you enter.

Right away, Kaminari runs over towards you and starts asking you questions. So much questions you couldn’t even understand a single thing he said and everything sounded like muffled slurs in your ears. Shinsou notices your tired expression which makes him pat his friend in the back, “that’s enough.” He said calmly which makes you look up at him.

“Crap I didn’t mean to overdo it, I’m sorry!” He says to Shinsou then to you but you were too exhausted to look back at him, nodding your head weakly. “Kaminari, I think Bakugou was looking for you a while ago.” He changes the topic causing the blond to flinch in fear. 

“I-I gotta run. If he asks—” 

“Got it.” Shinsou didn’t need him to finish to understand.

Once Kaminari finally left you two alone you just exhaled a breath. “Are you going to ask me questions too?” You say weakly, shoulder slouching forward with your head lowering slowly, eyelids feeling heavy.

He hummed, shoving his hands inside his pockets, “you’re not completely wrong, but I wasn’t going to.” The silence between you both makes you start walking but his voice makes you halt. “Do you have a shift again? Tonight, I mean.”

You turn to look at his purple eyes, shaking your head lightly, “I do have one tomorrow.” His expression goes back to worried, giving you the saddest look that you just had to look away. “If it makes you feel any better, someone else is worried about you.”

You look at him again with a raised brow, only to end up looking down and seeing a shy Eri hiding behind his legs. The sight of the young girl brought you back to reality, getting on your knees so you could be the same eyelevel as her, “I’m sorry you have to see me this way, Eri- _chan_.” Your hand reaches over to her head to ruffle her hair lightly.

She smiles softly at the gesture, only to end up cupping both of your cheeks with her tiny little hands. You looked at her with wide eyes, not expecting that at all. “You’re looking a lot like ToshTosh, (Y/N).” You couldn’t help but let out a laugh, putting your hands over hers, “do I really?” 

Eri nods, “it suits him more though.” You lowered your head in defeat when you heard Shinsou snicker, “told you so.” 

“Don’t you think (Y/N) should complain about this, Eri?” He gets down on his knees as well, his hands on her shoulders. She puffs up and nods with her brows furrowed, hands on her hips, “if they hurt (Y/N) I’ll make them pay!”

“Ah, ah, ah, we don’t say that. Instead, we say—”

“Kill them with kindness.” Eri recites casually which earns her a head pat from Shinsou, “that’s my girl.” 

You felt your heart getting full seeing Shinsou and Eri’s relationship in person. He’s never really mentioned that he was ever babysitting her to you which you found somewhat offending since that just meant you missed a lot of playdates, but you just shrugged it off.

A yawn escaped your lips which makes Shinsou remember about your current state. “Eri, why don’t you play with Midoriya? He’s inside his room.” The young girl looks at Shinsou with bright and hopeful eyes, “can I, ToshTosh?” He sighs with a smile, “I’ll be there in a while, don’t worry.”

And just like that Eri starts running upstairs. You couldn’t help but remember the first time she was introduced. She used to be such a shy girl, she still is, but she has gotten a lot more comfortable with your class. 

“She really needs to stop calling me ToshTosh in public…” he mumbles to himself while rubbing the back of his neck before getting back up on his feet. You look up at him and he offers you a hand which you willingly take as he pulls you up. 

“Do you need me to tuck you to bed or something?” He says which earns him a weak slap on the chest, “not funny, Toshi.” You respond back, now going back to your tired self now that Eri was gone.

“I know nothing I say will change your mind, but I really do mean what I said.” You look at him with raised brows. Your clueless expression makes him heave a breath, “just don’t overdo it, alright? If something happens to you and your mom were to find out—”

“I got it, don’t worry.”

* * *

“Anything strange happening in your area, Psychokinesis?” Midnight asked. Your hand reaches towards your earpiece and pressed onto it lightly, your eyes wandering around to see if there was anything suspicious going on. You slowly shook your head, “nothing here, Midnight. Maybe it’s in another area here somewhere—" you were cut off by something beeping on the other line.

“Your shift is over for today. Head back to HQ so you can change back into your school uniform.” Your eyes widened in shock, “a-alright? But Miss Midnight, I’m sure I can—" she cuts you off again, “I don’t want to hear it, Psychokinesis. You can go on patrol again tomorrow but for now, you need to rest up and head back to U.A., one of my sidekicks will assist you back.” 

You tried to talk back but there wasn’t a response. “Fucking dammit,” you cussed, feeling defeated. You jumped down the roof into an alleyway and walked right out. You start walking on the same route you took every day.

Like every end of the patrol, you try puzzling what the Pro Heroes are hiding. It’s not just Nezu or Miss Midnight that know what’s really happening, but also your homeroom teacher Aizawa- _sensei_. 

While walking you had been stopped by a few fans. They’ve seen you in action last year when you and the others were on a mission to rescue Eri from Overhaul who has magically disappeared after an attack on a highway. Everyone was quick to know that it was LOV’s doing. 

You took your last picture with this girl before something in the corner of your eye caught your attention. There was a hooded figure that looked around before heading down a dark alleyway by themselves, their hands tucked deeply inside their pockets.

This makes you alert and start looking around to see if anyone was eyeing you. Once the coast was clear, you start following where the hooded person went quickly but also not trying to look suspicious. You’ve reached the alleyway and you started walking.

Just when you were close, someone grabbed you by your shoulder which causes you to flinch and get into a stance, your fist up and ready to use your Quirk. “What are you doing here?”

You quickly let your guard down once you recognized that voice, “M-Miss Midnight?” She clicks her tongue and starts dragging you out, “I gave you specific instructions to head back to HQ, didn’t I? What’s not clicking in that hard head of yours?”

You were too shocked to reply to your mentor. You’ve never heard her use those words against you before especially in that tone. She sounded way more pissed and annoyed than ever. 

“But Midnight, I saw someone come in here and—”

“And what? I specifically told you to head back and yet, you didn’t. How am I supposed to trust you after this?”

Your fists started to clench but you calmed yourself down before any words slipped up. The last thing you wanted was to have this mission get taken away from you. She stopped once she noticed the sad expression on your face.

Midnight inhales a sharp breath, rubbing a temple in frustration as she sighs. “I can’t look at you right now, Psychokinesis. If I do, I might say even more hurtful things.” You don’t respond and just kept your head low, letting her words punch you over and over again willingly.

“Next time, if I say your shift is over, it’s over. You’re still a student. _My_ student and the last thing I want is anything bad happening to you.” Your lack of response makes her put a hand on your shoulder, “I chose you to be my intern because you’re smart and think things through. Don’t make reckless decisions just like today ever again, got it?” She said like a threat but it was masked off by her choice of words.

“I need you to talk to me.”

You nod your head weakly, “yes, Midnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow finally some plot in this fic !! as always kudos and comments are appreciated. send me your feedback since it means a lot to me whenever i read them <3 stay safe and don't forget to hydrate always


	42. A Realization

You looked down at your exam paper and just stared into it for 5 minutes straight, getting lost in your thoughts. It had been several days since that incident with Midnight and you haven’t fully moved on from it. “Eyes on your own paper.” Aizawa announces to the class which makes you snap out of it.

You lock eyes with him and he just gently nods at your direction. You covered your face with both hands and took a deep breath, trying to get a hold of yourself. Students were only given an hour to finish each exam and you were just wasting every minute given to you.

With a little harder push, you finally started answering the exam.

It ends quicker than you thought and you weren’t completely done yet, but it was already time to pass. In defeat, you pass your exam forward before leaning over your desk to release a deep and long breath. Jirou notices but chooses not to say anything since it was clear as day that you didn’t get any sleep at all.

“(Y/N).” Aizawa calls for your attention which causes you to quickly sit up straight with a hum. “Meet me outside.” He says tapping all the papers on his desk before heading out. You slowly got up on your feet and start making your way outside, feeling the stares of your classmates.

You closed the door behind you and locked eyes with your homeroom teacher. “Aizawa- _sensei_ , if it was about me zoning out earlier, I swear I wasn’t looking at anyone’s paper—” 

“That’s not why I called you here.” He cuts you off. 

You paused and looked at him with raised brows. “Then… what is it?” You said like a whisper, feeling your heart raise. It was always hard to read Aizawa, but there was this look in his eyes that just gave you a bad feeling. A bad feeling that something he’s about to say could ruin your whole week.

He takes a deep breath and sighs, folding his arms on his chest, “Midnight called.”

Just by the mention of her name, you already knew what was up. You nodded your head in defeat, “tonight?” He shakes his head, “tomorrow during your practical exam.”

Your eyes quickly widen, “d-during? But _sensei_ , that exam—” 

“Is least of your concerns right now.” You felt your insides twist, not knowing why the sudden change of plans. It was already explained by Midnight and Nezu that they’ll be giving you a break to rest, study, and take your exams, so what caused them to change?

“Is there a particular reason?” You say in a gentle voice even though you knew he wasn’t going to tell you any piece of information. He slowly shook his head, “I don’t know what made them change their decision either.” You looked him in the eyes and knew that he was telling the truth.

“Will I be taking a different exam then? When will that be?” 

“Principal Nezu said that you won’t be having one. Instead you’ll be marked with a grade depending on how you have been doing in your patrols.” You remembered that incident with Midnight by the alleyway and how different she was acting. You’ve never seen her like that it was almost like she was a whole different person.

“Did you get that?” He asks when you didn’t respond and started to zone out. “Don’t stress yourself out too much.” He tells you before walking away. You can’t really do that so easily considering that you’re on a mission that you know nothing about and the Pro Heroes won’t even bat a lash at you.

The door to your classroom opens and there were a few heads peaking out. “Is he gone?” Mina asks, looking to see if Aizawa was still around. You inhaled and released, “he left.” Your friends all headed out and approached you.

“We heard what Aizawa- _sensei_ said to you.” Uraraka gives you sad eyes while everyone surrounds you. “We didn’t want to eavesdrop since this mission of yours does seem important, but we were worried especially with how you’ve been lately.” 

You felt guilty making your friends worried, lowering your head, “I’m fine guys, it’s really nothing to worry about.” Once again, they gave you those pitiful looks that you’ve been seeing on everyone’s faces. Maybe it was because you were extremely exhausted, but there was something annoying about it. It felt like you were being looked down at as a hero and as a student even though that was clearly not the case at all.

Mina swings an arm over your shoulder and pulls you close to her, “hey why don’t we have another one of those spa days? But this time it’ll just be us.” She says gleaming brightly but you didn’t reciprocate the same vibe. “I’m too tired to have one, Mina.” You tell her with a pout, making her drop her arm to her side.

“I just… need sleep right now.” You tried to say it in the most lighthearted way, but just failed to hide the exhaustion in your voice. Luckily it was your last day of exams today, but because of the change of plans, you won’t be having a practical exam, instead you’ll be on patrol. Again.

You drag your feet back inside the classroom to get your things now that exams were over that day. Some people rejoiced loudly since there’s only two exams left which was one written one and the other was practical. 

You’d be lying to yourself if you said that you weren’t looking forward to that practical exam. It was one of those rare opportunities where you can show everyone how far you’ve come with your Quirk, but of course that had to be taken away from you. Just when you were about to walk out of the classroom, you had accidentally bumped into someone.

“Sorry—” you say in a rush and avoided eye contact until they called out for you. “What’s the matter?” You take a deep breath in and finally looked him in the eyes. Shinsou’s eyes widen, seeing that tears were rolling down your cheeks as your lips quivered.

* * *

“That’s bullshit.” Shinsou cusses loudly while you wiped your tears using the back of your hands. He sighs, “just use my handkerchief.” He says while you’re holding onto it. Your grip on the fabric tightens but loosens after another deep inhale. 

Giving in, you wiped your tears using his handkerchief while he sat down beside you on a bench at the back of school. You didn’t even feel the tears until Shinsou gave you a worried look and asked what happened. You felt so small beside him, not physically but mentally. You just want to hide somewhere for a day.

He notices that you’re deep into thought, making him shift his body towards you, “there’s nothing I can say or do that can help you, and you know that more than anyone.” He starts while you had your head down low, sniffling silently. “And I know giving up on this mission is the last thing you want to do.”

“If I were on your shoes…” he rubbed the back of his neck and looks away slowly, “I’d do the same too.”

Due to obvious reasons, you didn’t tell Shinsou anything specific about your patrols (not like you know any secretive information to begin with), but you did tell him about your conversation with Aizawa. He was more than upset to find out that his own mentor would say that, but he’s also not surprised. This is the Hero Course after all.

His hand reaches towards the strand of hair stuck to your face due to your tears and tucks it behind your ear, “for now, why don’t you get some rest? Since you won’t have exams tomorrow, use this time to finally rest and get good sleep. Do you want to sleep in my room while I study?”

You shake your head quickly, “you’ve already done so much, I’ll sleep in my room.” You say as you slowly got up from the bench but he suddenly grabs your wrist before you could take another step. This action startles you, making your eyes wide as you turn your head to look at him.

It seems like Shinsou had the same reaction as you because he quickly let’s go of you and gets up as well, rubbing his nape while his head turned to the other direction to avoid your eyes, “sorry I didn’t know what had gotten into me just now.” 

There was an awkward silence between you two which rarely happens. “It’s just that… you looked tired and maybe you just need company. You won’t disturb me and my studies at all since you’ll be sleeping anyway, so just come over at my room.” His tone was embarrassed, purple eyes still avoiding you while the tips of his ears were turning red. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t mind since you have slept in Shinsou’s room a handful amount (you’re ashamed of this), it’s the fact that you actually end up not sleeping at all since you tend to overthink which goes on for hours without you realizing until it’s a little too late and so the last thing you want is Shinsou getting more suspicious which will lead him to asking more questions and getting more worried than he already is.

Sighing, you nod your head in defeat, “fine.”

* * *

You sat there awkwardly on his bed while he sat by his desk doing his own thing. “If you need anything, just give me a call.” He says while his back faces you. “I’m not sick.” You whisper to yourself but he hears it anyway.

“You will be if you continue to be reckless.” And like that you tuck yourself in and face the wall. Falling asleep in Shinsou’s room hasn’t been this painful before. Maybe it’s because you’d usually fall asleep without realizing and now you’re _trying_ to fall asleep. 

You start looking back from all the moments you’ve fallen asleep in his room, remembering that there was that one time where you had gotten sick and he took care of you. While getting lost in your thoughts again, he starts to speak which causes you to flinch a little.

“Have you fallen asleep yet?” He asks out of nowhere. You furrow your brows and sneakily checked the time on your phone, eyes widening when you noticed that it had been 30 minutes already. _“But I just lied down?”_ You thought.

His exhale makes you flinch again, quickly covering your mouth just in case he heard you. “You’ve been working hard a lot lately.” He leans back on his chair and faces the ceiling. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel insecure about that.” Your hand slowly lowers from your mouth as you start listening to him closely.

“Not that I’m not happy for you. I am, trust me. It’s just that…” he pauses for a while. He sighs, “it just feels like I’m falling behind and I fear that one day I won’t be able to reach you anymore.” His tone was sad. Shinsou sits up straight and goes back to his books. 

“We’re still young so anything can happen in the future. It’s no lie that we’ll be separated one day and we’ll no longer have time like we do now especially since we’re both going to be Pro Heroes.” He pauses again, “it also bothers me that I promised myself that I came here to become a Pro Hero and nothing else. I didn’t even want to interact with anyone in terms of outside of school.” He starts playing with the pen in his hand.

“So, tell me why I had to meet someone like you?” You couldn’t see him, but the way those words rolled out of his mouth sounded like he was smiling. He chuckles, “you’re an idiot and I hope you know that.” Without realizing you were smiling too. 

“Whatever this patrol of yours is, I’m sure you’re doing great. Though this experience has been nothing but hell for you at the moment, this will serve as practice in the future.” He takes a deep breath in, taking down notes, his head shifting right and left from his book to his notebook. “I know you’re strong and you can do things on your own, but I wish you were a bit more… dependent. Even if it’s not to me, at least to your friends.”

He chuckles again, “God I never expected to hear myself say those words. Maybe Kaminari was right about me going all soft when you’re around.” He suddenly stops writing, a sudden realization hitting him slowly. 

He lifts his pen towards his mouth and was tapping it against his bottom lip, “have I… taken a liking to…” he stops and trails off. Shinsou gets up from his chair and approaches your sleeping figure that was still facing the wall. He takes a peek to check if you’ve fallen asleep or if you’ve been listening to him the whole time.

A relieved breath escaped his lips when he saw that you were snoring silently, your features relaxed. His hand runs through his fluffy indigo locks as he sits back down on his chair. “It could never happen though.”


	43. Partners in Crime

You flinched at the loud ringing close to your ear. You slowly opened your eyes with a groan and sat up, rubbing your eyes with the back of your hands. Shinsou gets startled by it as well and turns around to look at you. He sees the caller ID and immediately lets out a sigh with his arms crossed on his chest, “right now?”

You took your phone and answered it.

“Yes, Miss Midnight?” 

“Get changed and wait by the gate. We’ll be picking you up shortly.” 

And just like that she hangs up, your hand immediately dropping with your device. “(Y/N), look at the time.” Shinsou says to you but you ignore him. You checked the clock on the wall and looked at him, “shouldn’t you be sleeping? School starts in 2 and a half hours from now.” You say in a soft voice since you just had woken up. 

You looked over at his desk and noticed that it wasn’t even like he was studying anymore since all of his books and notebooks were no longer there. You got up and took your phone with you, “I told you I should’ve slept in my room. I hogged all of the bed.”

“It’s perfectly fine. I wasn’t feeling sleepy anyway.” You let out a yawn and start walking towards his door, “you could’ve at least lied down beside me or something. It is your bed.” He wasn’t sure if you were just drowsy or not. It’s not like he could even look at you especially after all he had just blurted out to himself.

“Are you worried about the practical exam? I’m sure you’ll do great.” You twist the doorknob and opened it. He gulped and turned the other direction, “it’s not really about the exams I’m worried about…” 

Just when you were about to close to door, he calls out for you. You turned to look at him, “if anything happens, you can always call me, alright?”

* * *

You arrived at your final destination. You walked out of the car with Midnight. “So, there had been multiple witnesses that have said that they saw a couple hooded figures walking in this area.” She explained which catches you off guard. This was the first time she had ever given you any detail about a mission.

“Right now, I need you to interview a few more witnesses and try to get information out of them. Any small piece of information is still important. Report to me after, did you get all that?” You nodded to her before she started walking to the opposite direction. 

She had given you directions as to where the witness was waiting. You headed over there and tried to think of every possible question to ask until you had arrived. “Good morning I’m Psychokinesis and I’ll be—” 

“(Y/N)?!” 

That voice.

“K-Kim?” She smiled widely at you. “What are you…” she jumped up from her seat and made her way towards you with a friendly wave. “So, you’re the sidekick that’ll be interviewing me! What a coincidence don’t you think?” You put away the clipboard in your hands and leaned in closer towards her, “what are you doing here?”

She doesn’t seem to be fazed by your worried and also angered tone, “believe me I’m not sure myself. I was minding my own business until I had accidentally bumped into a rando in the streets. I couldn’t even see their face because they were wearing a hood.” You looked around and started dragging her away somewhere.

“Kim whatever you’re doing, stop it. The last thing I want is someone I know getting involved.” She quickly shook her head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, (Y/N), but—”

“Please refer to me as Psychokinesis during my working hours.” You cut her off and started writing stuff down. “Start from the beginning and tell me every little detail you know that happened during that night.” Kim nods her head and starts explaining everything to you.

“I was celebrating a birthday with my friends and when it was time to go back home, I noticed that I forgot something inside and so when I went back, I had accidentally bumped into someone wearing a hood. At first, I didn’t mind it and just apologized, but when I saw that they were heading down an alleyway, I decided to report it.” 

You looked down at your notes and sighed, _“this isn’t good enough.”_ You thought to yourself.

“Is that all?” She nods, “that’s basically it. Next thing I knew I was suddenly asked to wait for hours and then you showed up. Might I say you were the last person I expected to meet here let alone be the person interviewing me.” She trails off. 

“Did you not see their face at all? Not even like a scar or their eyes?” She looks up and thinks, only to shake her head, “nope. I just saw their mouth and nothing else.” You took a deep breath and sighed, “thanks, that’ll be all.”

You got up and started walking away. “(Y/N)— I mean, Psychokinesis!” You sighed again, “what is it?”

“Who are those people anyway? Are they from the League? Are they back?” You shook your head at all of her questions, “I can’t give you any information as to what is happening at the moment.” She pouts, “that’s a bummer.” Her sour tone made you feel annoyed but you decided to brush it off like always.

“Psychokinesis, why don’t we check it out ourselves?” You snapped out of it and looked at her with wide eyes. “Have you gotten insane? We don’t even know who those people are and what Quirk they possess.” You scolded but she just groaned, “do you hear yourself right now? I told one of the pros about that alleyway and they ignored me and didn’t even check it out.”

“Maybe it’s because they know what they’re doing and they’re not telling us. The last thing I want right now is getting my license confiscated. Now if you excuse me, I’ll be going.” You bow your head to her before walking the opposite direction. 

While walking and trying to get a hold of Midnight through your ear piece, you had this bad feeling inside of you. You slowly turned around and saw that Kim was nowhere to be seen. Cussing, you start running back in hopes of finding her. When there were no signs of here being there, your legs start running to the one location you’d know she was heading.

Once you saw her figure enter the alleyway, you quickly tackled her inside causing her to yelp. “What did I just fucking tell you?” You said pinning her down the ground in the dark alleyway so no one could see what was happening. She lets out a grunt, “you didn’t need to do that, y’know.” She tried speaking while you had her down with your knee on top of her.

“You would’ve been in bigger trouble if I didn’t. I told you to stay out of this. Neither of us are allowed to be getting involved—” 

“So, you’ve found another witness?”

You froze at the voice approaching behind you. _“Fuck we’re gonna get caught.”_

“Yes, and I have one of my sidekicks interviewing her as we speak. It's taking a long time.” 

“Which sidekick exactly? They should be done with the investigation by now.”

“Ah you don’t know her. She’s new and I’ve only had her for almost a year now.”

The two figures start walking down the alleyway, their footsteps echoing. Luckily you were quick to hide inside a garbage can with Kim, though you two were just inches away from each other’s faces, it was the only option. Not only that but that was least of your concerns since you’re practically eavesdropping on your mentor’s conversation with someone.

“You mean the Second Year? Have you gone mad, Midnight? I’ve heard rumors about a student being involved, but I never would’ve thought that it would be someone who wasn’t in their Senior Year.” 

“I’ve trained her and shaped her to be a much stronger student. Don’t you dare look down at me.” 

They laughed at her threat, “I’m just saying. Then again, the students now are quite more powerful. Especially the Second Years.” 

“Well nonetheless, are you sure bringing another student into this is a good idea? We don’t want another Lemillion accident, now do we?” 

Kim’s eyes shot wide open as she quickly turns her head to look at you. She didn’t expect you to look as shocked as she is since she thought you knew everything about the mission and just lied to her in hopes that she stops asking questions.

“They found an antidote for that, didn’t they? She’s stronger than she thinks and I know her potential. If something terrible does happen then I’ll take the consequences.” Midnight’s voice was tensed up which earns her a chuckle from the other person she was speaking to.

“I’m surprised a student is willing to sacrifice their Quirk up after knowing about Lemillion losing his Quirk because of a bullet. Have you bribed her?” Midnight clicks her tongue, “enough of this. I’m going to call her and ask for updates.”

 _“Fuck.”_ You cussed in your head and tried to take off the earpiece before it starts making a noise. 

“Psychokinesis, have you finished?” 

_No response._

They laughed, “maybe a villain has reached her already. The best thing to do right now would be to check up on your precious sidekick.” Midnight clicks her tongue in annoyance, “if you want something to be done you have to do it yourself.” You listened closely until you no longer heard their footsteps.

Slowly, you lift the lid up to see if the coast was clear. Once it was, you hopped out and started walking as fast as you could, leaving Kim behind who was calling out for you.

“(Y/N), where are you going—” she reaches to grab your shoulder but you quickly slapped her hand. “You don’t speak about this to anyone, got it?” You pointed and glared at her. “What you did was careless and stupid. I told you to not get yourself involved and now you’ve done it.”

Kim starts looking sad, “I just wanted answers since it didn’t even look like the heroes were planning on doing anything about the information I gave them about the alleyway.” You rubbed your temples in frustration trying to cool down but failed miserably, failing to hide your angered tone, “Kim, what’s not clicking in that head of yours?”

“We just eavesdropped on their conversation and—” you take a deep breath, trying to collect yourself once again. Shaking, you reach to your pocket and take out your phone, “I’m telling Toshi about this—”

Kim quickly snatches your device from you which earns her another glare, “give that back, Kim. You’ve already made so much mistakes and you’ve decided to drag me in with you—” 

“You don’t want to involve Shinsou in this, (Y/N), trust me. Don’t you think it’s bad enough that I know?” 

You didn’t reply and just started thinking to yourself. She was right.

“You’re overwhelmed with emotions right now and I can’t blame you. Right now, I need you to calm down and think.” You would’ve been pissed about what she had just said to you, but you knew she wasn’t wrong. Taking a deep breath, “what do you want me to do about this? I just found out that I’m being used as bait and nothing else.”

She thinks for a while and looks hesitant. You gave her a look, “what is it?” 

“I know I’ve already said this earlier, but after what we had just heard, I’m even more determined for it happening.” You raised your brows at her until she starts to speak again. “Why don’t we get to the bottom of this ourselves?”

* * *

“Psychokinesis, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you and have been trying to get a hold of you. For the past hour.” You turn to your mentor and quickly bowed, “I’m very sorry, Midnight. I wasn’t able to receive any of your calls and when I tried calling you myself, it wasn’t working.”

She hums, “I’ll have to get your earpiece checked, but that’s the least of our problems right now. Did you get anything good?” You hand her the clipboard and she examines it with her eyes, “unfortunately they’re not good enough.”

Midnight sighs, “she just bumped into them and saw them enter the alleyway, huh.” She hands you back the clipboard, “where is she now?” She looks around to see if Kim was still there. “She said she had somewhere to go and apparently a cop told her that she can leave once her interview was over so I let her go since there was nothing else she knew about. Should I call her back?”

She shakes her head, “no it’s perfectly fine. It doesn’t seem like she knows anything important anyway…” she starts walking again, “Psychokinesis, why don’t you head back to HQ? Get your earpiece fixed by the time being and rest while you can. I’ll call you if I need your assistance again.” 

You nodded, “yes, Midnight.” 

While walking back you snatched a paper bag on an empty bench and open it, taking out your phone from your back pocket and putting it close to your ear, “is it done?” 

Kim hums through the other line, “They’ll just think that your earpiece malfunctioned because of a short circuit, they won’t think of anything else.”

“You got our convo, right?” She nods, “I heard it loud and clear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kim and reader working together to find out what's happening? we love to see it


	44. First Lie

“I’m back.” You say as you entered the apartment, shutting the door behind yourself as you took your shoes off. “Did you find anything new?” You asked Kim who was still on her laptop. She nods her head and turns her laptop around so you could see. 

“I took a look at the security cameras from this afternoon and found these two people entering.” She zooms in on the screen and plays the video. Your eyes don’t leave the screen until she clicked pause and starts pointing at a face, “I tried my best to look for the perfect pause, but this is the best that I could do.”

“It’s barely distinguishable but… it’s the closest we’ve gotten.” You looked closer and saw that they had a mole on their chin. You squint your eyes and try to think of something.

Kim looks down at you, “oh what’s that?” You snapped out of your thoughts and finally moved away from the screen, placing the paper bag on her countertop, “I decided to take a quick visit to the bakery and bought some food for you. I assumed that you haven’t eaten yet.”

She smiles lightly at you, “you didn’t have to, but thank you!” It has been about 3 days since you and Kim had worked together and ever since then you’ve been hanging out at this apartment she rented out just for your meeting purposes. It’s shocking how you forgot how rich Kim actually is.

At first when she suggested about getting the apartment you were against it, but of course being the Kim that she is, didn’t listen and just went ahead and did it behind your back. 

“Why don’t you eat as well? I’m a little embarrassed that you decided to buy me something. At least eat some with me before you leave.” You exhaled a breath and took the seat across her, “you make me sound pathetic. You’re the one that rented a wholeass apartment just for this.”

She takes a bite and shrugs, “Do you expect us to meet at a public area? I’m already a suspect after all and it’ll be suspicious if they found out one of Midnight’s sidekicks is hanging out with a person like me who could be involved with something serious.”

You sigh, “I know, but still. Then again this was probably the best option considering that if they do find out about this place which I know they won’t, at least they won’t know your personal address.” She put the pastry down, “I can’t say the same for you unfortunately.”

You and Kim have already talked about the consequences you both will face if you were to get caught. Without a doubt, your heroes license will get confiscated and to make matters worse you might even get expelled. For Kim on the other hand—

“Hey. You good?” You snapped out of it and nodded, “sorry, I was just thinking about something.” She smiles softly at you, “no worries. I just wanted to check if I made you overthink about this again. I’m sorry.” You quickly shook your head, “it’s completely fine! It’s nothing like that.”

Kim lets out a laugh which makes you calm down a bit, “this takes me back during middle school, don’t you think?” Before you could reply she leans her head back and looks up at the ceiling, “I know it’s bad to dwell in the past but… I can’t help it.”

You raise your eyebrows at her, not knowing where the conversation was heading. “I know what I did to you during middle school was wrong and… I’m ashamed that I even thought about using you. The truth is, I really, really, really liked you. In fact, I still do.” 

You don’t know where this conversation was heading but Kim had this smile on her face that just made your heart feel full. “It’s a shame that I can still look you in the eyes after all the things I did to you in the past.”

“What I’m trying to say is—” she clears her throat, “you don’t have to forgive me since I still don’t even forgive myself, but… I hope I can make it up to you by helping you with this mission.” Before you could open your lips to give her your reply she hushes you again, “don’t! As much as I would like your forgiveness, I want to earn it myself. Please give me time, okay?”

You smiled lightly at her and nodded, “you got it.” 

Your conversation was cut off by the ringing device on your pocket. You fished it out and checked the caller I.D., eyebrows raising as you checked what time it was. “Is it Midnight? Don’t tell me she needs your help with something again. She just dismissed you.” 

You shook your head as you answered the call. “Hey,” you say casually and pointed to the room across the hall and Kim gives you a thumbs up, finishing her pastry up. You start walking towards the room and closed the door behind you.

“Hey umm… wait, you’re still not working, are you?” You couldn’t help but laugh at his nervousness through the call, “I just finished, what’s up? Did you want me to get something at the store for you on the way back?” 

He shook his head, “no it’s nothing like that.” He takes a deep breath and sighs, “to tell you the truth I honestly didn’t think you’d pick up.” You leaned against the wall and hummed, “how so? Have you been trying to get a hold of me this whole day?”

“Nothing like that again. It just seems like you’re awfully busy and the last thing I want is to get in the way of things.” You smiled lightly, “well I answered, didn’t I?” 

“Right.” The silence in the call was a little unexpected. This made you realize how long it has been since you last called him through the phone. “If you don’t mind me asking, where exactly are you right now?” You looked around the room, “I’m on my way to a bakery actually. Would you like anything in particular?” 

“Anything will be fine. Did you skip on lunch again?” You shook your head, “nah I just got hungry after patrol today. I’ll be there in an hour max.” Shinsou nods, “alrighty.” You pulled the phone away and ended the call, a deep and long breath leaving your lips.

* * *

“Wait before you—” he says a little too late and you already ended the call. Shinsou takes a deep breath and walks out of his room and deciding to wait for you in the common room. Sure, he sees you at school, but due to the heavy amounts of work, you’ve talked less and less. Not only that but he rarely sees you in the dorms anymore since you have your nightly patrols.

While heading down, he bumps into his mentor. “Aizawa- _sensei_ ,” he greets him with a bow. “Perfect timing, I was just about to ask if (Y/N) is in her room.” Shinsou shook his head, “she just finished patrolling sir, so she’s not here yet.”

Aizawa furrowed his eyebrows, “what are you talking about? Her patrol ended two hours ago. At least that’s what Midnight informed me about.” Shinsou’s eyes widened before letting out a short laugh, rubbing his nape lightly, “I must’ve gotten it wrong then. I was in my room so I’m not sure if she arrived or not.” 

“Understood. Now if you excuse me,” he walks past his student who didn’t move an inch.

_“What the fuck are you doing?”_

* * *

It was like you were holding your breath for the entirety of your call. _“Did I just… lie to Shinsou?”_

Guilt starts rushing over you once you remembered your promise to Shinsou about lying to each other. As much as you wanted to tell him or anyone of your friends, like Kim and you said, it’s too dangerous to get anyone involved especially after finding out that this might involve a bullet that could remove Quirks.

Kim knocks on the door before opening it, “so how was it?” You shook your head to assure her, “it was just Shinsou, don’t worry about it. Anyways, it’s getting late I think you should start packing up and leaving. It’s getting late.” 

You headed towards the door and waved Kim goodbye, putting on your outdoor shoes before leaving the apartment. As you said, you walked to the same bakery from earlier to buy some things for your friends but you were shocked to see that it was already closed.

Sighing, you switched routes. Luckily you’ve been patrolling so much in this area to the point you know the ins and outs. There was another bakery not far from the other one.

You opened the door, “I’m back—” before you could even finish you were immediately tackled by Mina. “You’re back!” You couldn’t help but smile, “yes, yes, I’m back.” She lets go of you and pouts, “jeez you’ve been so busy with patrols that we don’t even hangout as much anymore.” You bowed your head at her to apologize, “I’m sorry, but hopefully this could make up for it.”

You show her the bag filled with food and her eyes immediately sparkled, completely forgetting your conversation. “I bought it for everyone since you’ve all been so nice to me.” Mina nudges you, “you’re getting so much money from your patrols I’m getting jealous.” 

She puts the bag on the table and some people start making their way towards it to get a piece. “It took you exactly an hour to get here. Was the line long?” A voice catches you off guard, causing you to flinch. “Don’t scare me like that.” You say while putting your hand on your chest. 

“The line was pretty long, but it’s fine.” Shinsou hums and looks the other way. “I got some for you as well.” He slowly shakes his head, “I’m not really in the best mood for it right now.” You pout at him, “don’t be like that!” You put down your bag and took out a small box of sweets, handing them to him.

“I haven’t tried those myself, but I heard they were pretty good. They have white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate—” you point to the different rows while Shinsou just looks at you, not even paying attention. “Since I know you don’t like overly sweet things, you can give those to me.” 

He sighs, “so that’s why you got me this. Just so you could take some as well?” You couldn’t help but laugh, “I would say you’re right but nah, it’s all for you.” You grabbed your bag once again, “and since you’ve been nothing but a good friend to me by checking up on me more than my own mother, that’s a little thank you gift.”

Shinsou looks down at it and doesn’t say anything. “Do you… not like it?” He quickly shook his head, “it’s nothing like that. I… like it a lot.” He says quietly, his cheeks tinted with a pink shade slightly. You couldn’t help but smile, “that makes my day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if this is the direction i was going for it but it just came out to me naturally hehe i hope you all have a good day and don't forget to hydrate !! kudos and comments/feedbacks always make my day and motivate me to write more ^^


	45. Request

You grabbed your bag and hung it around your shoulder, taking your outdoor shoes with you. Just when you were about to open your front door, you received a message from someone. Fishing your phone out using your free hand, you checked what it was about.

**Kim**  
_I found something that might help us, it’s urgent_

Nodding, you slipped your phone back into your pocket and finally opened the door, only to bump into someone. His eyes widened, “(Y/N)? Where are you—” his eyes lower to your bag and the shoes you were holding. Shinsou heaves a breath, “again?”

“Did you need anything, Toshi?” You asked, changing the subject. He slowly shook his head, “no but I actually wanted to check up on you to see how you were doing.” His hand reaches for the back of his neck, rubbing it. He chuckles softly with a saddened smile on his lips, “guess I’m a little too late, huh.”

You smiled back at him lightly, “I’m really sorry. Maybe we can uhh... hangout tomorrow?” That only seemed to make him look sadder but you didn’t notice, _“you said that the other day as well.”_ He whispered to himself which makes you lift your eyebrows at him, “what was that?”

“Nothing. I hope you do well today.” You look at him with confused eyes only to nod your head back, “thanks.”

He watches you head down the steps and once you were gone, he exhales a long breath, folding his arms on his chest. “This has been happening for almost 2 weeks now…” he talks to himself. “She also had that look in her eyes… no, she’s always had those eyes ever since she didn’t take the practical exam.”

Shinsou didn’t realize that someone actually went inside your room until they started talking. “She’s gone again?!” Mina exclaims, scratching her head in annoyance. Her features calm down once she noticed that Shinsou was in front of the door as well, both not acknowledging each other’s existence until now.

“Mina?” 

“Shinsou? Were you here to visit (Y/N) as well?” She laughs, “guess we were both a step too late.” Shinsou slowly shook his head which causes her to raise her brows at him. “She was just here actually, but unfortunately had to leave before I could even open the door myself.”

Mina takes a deep breath and sighs, “you’re worried about her too, aren’t you?” He nods his head weakly. Mina stretches her arms in the air before resting both of her hands behind her head, “I haven’t really brought this up to anyone since they’re all busy with their own thing. I’m sure you’re busy too, but—”

She turns her head to give Shinsou saddened eyes, “don’t you think (Y/N) has changed quite a bit?” 

* * *

“You found it?” Kim nods her head confidently, her finger pointing at her screen, “I’ve been spying on his area and noticed that they have this pattern. Every 3-4 days, there would always be a group of people entering and every single time, I haven’t seen a single person leave.”

“We knew that there was another exit, but… maybe this is someone with a teleportation quirk.” You rubbed your chin while Kim takes a sip from her cup of coffee, “that’s what I thought as well since there was a member from the league that had that type of Quirk. Kurogiri, am I correct?”

That name still brings you bad memories from the past. The amount of trouble the league has brought upon your life.

“How much longer do we have?” You asked her. Kim starts calculating in her head, “I’d say roughly… 2 days from now.” You looked at her with wide eyes, “2 days?” She nods. You looked away to think. You’ve been patrolling for over a month now and it’s finally started to go according to plan.

“If not, then the maximum date I can think of will be in a week from now.”

Before you could reply your earpiece starts to ring. You press onto it and start speaking, “I’m on my way, Midnight.” You respond but she cuts you off, “meet me at HQ, it’s urgent and our location for today will be different.” It took you a few seconds to register her words but eventually you replied.

“What did she say?” Kim turns to your direction as you start gathering your things. “She told me to head over to HQ. Probably going to discuss something about a new location.” She nods at her at you, “good luck and tell me what happens after.”

You said your goodbyes and made your way to HQ using your Quirk to fly yourself around. You knew this had to be something important especially if Midnight is requesting you to head over. If it was just a simple message, she would’ve said it through the line or just said it to you in person during your patrol.

Once you’ve made it, you softly landed on your feet and entered the front entrance. “Meeting room.” The woman behind the desk informs you without even looking up at you, eyes glued to the files in her hands. You nod your head before walking past her and made your way to the elevator. 

The metal doors shut before you and you clicked on a button where the room was. Looking up, you watched the numbers increase until the metal box stopped on a floor. The doors slowly start to open and you moved to the side to make space. 

“Oh (Y/N)!” You look up with wide eyes and saw that it was Kirishima and Jirou. You raised a brow at them, this was the last pair you expected to see, “hey what are you two doing here?” This was Midnight’s agency so this was a whole surprise for you.

“We were told by Aizawa to collect some things from a few agencies nearby and it so happens that Midnight was one of them.” This place wasn’t necessarily nearby, but you ignored it. “You guys just got her?” They both shook their head as they entered the elevator before it closed on them.

“This is actually our second stop and it took a little longer for us to find this place.” You couldn’t help but smile at them, “you guys should’ve texted me at least.” Kirishima laughs nervously, rubbing his nape lightly, “we would but you know…” his eyes slowly look at you from head to toe which makes you scoff, “it’s no big deal! Next time if you need help just call me.” 

“Are you done with your patrols?” Jirou asks and you shake your head. “It hasn’t started yet actually. Midnight called and asked to see me here.” Kirishima lets out a breath and smiles, “I’m jealous that you have to do cool hero things while we’re stuck at school. How have missions been?”

Jirou doesn’t say a thing since she knows how boring and useless your missions have been. You can’t even consider them missions since it’s literally just you walking around and doing nothing.

“Its been good I guess you could say.” The doors slowly open and you looked up, it was your floor. You walk out and said your goodbyes, wishing them good luck on their errands before the doors shut. You take out your phone from your pocket and start scrolling through your phone to see if you missed any messages.

While walking you accidentally bump into someone, causing you to drop your phone. “Gah! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you I was just walking around on my own looking for the meeting room and I happen to accidentally walk into the wrong rooms and I forgot to watch where I’m going and—” 

“Midoriya?” 

He calms down at the sound of your voice, “(Y/N)?”

Well today was a weird one.

“Meeting room? Are you here for something as well?” You jumped straight into the question. You had gotten used to his rambling to the point you almost understand every word that he says. His features calm down a bit, nodding, “yeah uhh… All Might took me here and—”

You start tuning out his explanation, _“Jirou and Kirishima were just here to get some things… but Midoriya will be in the meeting room as well? Have they decided to ask for reinforcements?”_

“So I was wondering if you could show me where the meeting room is.” His index fingers poke at each other as a light shade of pink was dusted on his cheeks. You slowly nodded, “I actually need to be there as well.” He gasps loudly while walking alongside you, “really? Are they asking me to join in the patrols as well?”

“That’s what I want to know.” You whisper to yourself before opening the door. 

The room was dark and the tension was so thick you could practically cut the air with a knife. Midoriya closes the door behind him as you made your way towards Midnight. “You’re finally here.” 

You gently bowed, “I came here as fast as I could. I’m sorry if I’m late.” She slowly shook her head, her arms crossed on her chest as she exhales a tired breath, “it’s not you, trust me.” You look around and noticed that it was just a few Pro Heroes including Midoriya. Surprisingly All Might was nowhere to be found.

“Does this meeting have something to do—”

“Yes since we’ve received updates and have come to a conclusion which we will be getting into a few minutes.” You kept glancing at Midoriya who was a nervous wreck, stuttering in all of his words as he tried to converse with the other Pro Heroes who were bombarding him with questions regarding his Quirk. 

“Midnight, may I ask a question?” She follows your eyes and knew what it was about. “I asked All Might to inform Midoriya about the meeting today. So far you’re the only student involved in this so I’ll need your help explaining everything to Midoriya once this meeting is over, got it?” 

You look at her and nod but deep down, you couldn’t think of anything that you could tell Midoriya apart from the info you and Kim had to earn yourselves. Midnight has yet to tell you what this is about herself. The only information you got from your accidental eaves dropping is that this has something to do with a Quirk bullet that Mirio got shot with last year.

The meeting starts and she starts by greeting everyone. You stood next to Midoriya by the door while everyone else was seated. “Do you think we’ll be working together?” He asks, eyes focused on the Pro Heroes. You slowly shrugged, “I have no idea.”

You start thinking to yourself, _“what if Midoriya was to be your partner in this mission?”_

You try to shake those thoughts away since you already had to deal with Kim. Then you remembered that suicide mission they went on last year when him and a few of your classmates went and saved Bakugou from the league. That incident with Stain as well… his Quirk would be useful for what you and Kim plan on doing in the near future, but the question is, would he be up for it? Or would he snitch?

“As of right now the cops are handling another suspect at the station. But he’s not just an eye witness this time, he might be part of the group we’re looking for.” You noticed how little information Midnight was saying, probably because she’s aware that you’re in the room.

The heroes weren’t too bothered though which makes you think that they understand her completely. “Due to how serious this is getting; I would like to announce that we will no longer be needing the students’ help.” 

Your arms that were crossed before you dropped down to your side as your eyes widened. Midoriya looks over at you who seemed as shock as you were. Midnight doesn’t look at you and resumes with her meeting. You start tuning everything out, thoughts suffocating your head.

_“It’s over? Already?”  
“What about the bullet?”  
“Have I just been used? No, you knew that already.”  
“I’ve been wasting so much time on this mission only to be removed from it before it’s even solved.”  
“What the fuck.” _

Midoriya notices the anger and disappointment in your eyes, causing him to look away and leave you be for now. Though he doesn’t know much about the mission, he knows how heartbreaking it must be for you since he went through something similar last year. 

The meeting ends and the heroes start leaving while Midnight remained. Midoriya is stuck in this situation, not knowing whether he should leave or stay by your side since All Might asked him to attend the meeting. 

“I’m sorry I had to tell you in that way, (Y/N).” She looks over at Midoriya who stands up straight and puffs up. “Can you give us a moment, Izuku? I need to have alone time with my sidekick. I’ll talk to you after we’re done.” He looks at you one more time and nods, leaving you both alone. 

You dropped yourself on a vacant seat, feeling your shoulders getting heavier while your eyes on the ground. Midnight grabs a seat and drags it closer to yours before sitting down on it. The room was silent and you wanted it to stay that way.

“I know you’re disappointed and feeling helpless right now, but I need you to listen to me, alright?” You don’t respond which causes her to heave a breath. Midnight puts a hand on you and pats your shoulder, rubbing it lightly, “it has been a while since we talked like this, hasn’t it?”

She wasn’t wrong. Ever since this patrolling mission was handed to you, you and Midnight haven’t had a normal conversation since every time she calls you, it always had something to do with the mission. You missed the times she’d pull you out of class just to check up on you and ask how you’ve been doing.

“I’m also sure that you have many questions to ask me and I can say that I’ve been avoiding a lot of them.” You finally looked up and met her eyes, “are you replacing me with Midoriya?” She looks at you in shock before scoffing, placing her hand on your head and ruffled your hair lightly, “you don’t have to worry about that.” 

“I talked to Might about this mission recently and that we’re almost approaching a dead end, but he recommended that I take Midoriya into this mission. I thought about it and agreed until today. I decided to change my mind since adding another student into this mess would just be a repeat of last year and that’s the last thing we want.” 

“What about the missions then? Miss Midnight, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve been patrolling almost everyday for over a month now. You can’t just push me out of the mission, that would mean that I’ve just been—”

“Wasting time, I know.” Your fists start clenching on your lap as you took a deep breath. “If anyone here has the right to be emotional, it’s you. And since you’ve been very patient with me, I’ll tell you what this mission has been about only if you promise to keep it confidential. Got it?”

You quicky nod your head, “I’ll do anything—” 

“Not even Kim?” 

You froze, eyes widening. You couldn’t read Midnight’s expression. If anything, she was just rather calm. “I-I don’t understand what you’re—”

“There’s no point in hiding it. I was a teen too, y’know. Sneaking out and meeting someone behind everyone’s backs isn’t entirely new to me. Plus, ever since you interviewed Kim, I noticed that you stopped asking questions and have been a lot more obedient. Though it took me a little longer to find out, I eventually just concluded that you were gathering data on your own.”

She chuckles and leans back on her chair, “which is quite impressive if you ask me.” 

This was a whole different Midnight that has been watching over you for the past few weeks and knowing that makes you calm down. You’ve been on edge around her and it feels like you’ve been holding your breath whenever she’s around. 

She notices your features relaxing, smiling lightly at you. “I’m sorry I haven’t been the best mentor recently. Usually I’m very confident with my teaching skills, as you would know, but… I took things a little too far.” You slowly nodded your head. 

“Anyways, enough of that cheesy shit—I’ll tell you everything as long as you don’t tell anyone, especially Kim.” You raised your eyebrows at her, “not that I would but… why Kim?” She takes a deep breath and sighs, “as you may know, Kim has gathered all of the data you two found yourselves.”

“But we can’t involve her any more, got it?” You don’t respond and just look at her. “(Y/N), why do you think I changed my mind about you and Izuku? To protect you both from something big. Why would I want to drag someone who isn’t from U.A. or a hero school into this mess? It was already a mistake recruiting you.”

You sighed, “Kim’s stubborn, she won’t let this go if I tell her that you let me go, especially if there’s not a specific reason. If I tell her it’s because it’s getting more dangerous, this will give her a bigger reason to continue. Even on her own.”

Midnight turns to the other direction and starts thinking to herself. “Would you mind if I tell you something we planned on doing a couple of days ago? I’m not sure if you’d be up for that idea, but…”

You inhale sharply, feeling heavier than you originally were. “If what you said was true, then… I feel this would be the only solution.” She says quietly while you kept your head down. “So what path is it that you want to take?”

“If we’re going with that idea, I would want a request.”

“Anything you want.”


	46. Brainwashed

Midoriya opens the door for you and you give him a gentle nod before entering the Heights Alliance. “(Y/N)? And… Midoriya?” Your classmates say in surprise, not expecting to see you both enter at the same time. “Did you two happen to bump into each other on the way?” 

You both looked at each other, “I guess you could say that. Midoriya and I just happened to be at Midnight’s agency for a meeting.” They exchanged each other the same shocked expression. “Does that mean you and Midoriya will be—”

He immediately shook his head while laughing nervously, “no it’s not like that.” You nodded after, “actually we both won’t be patrolling anymore. I mean, he hasn’t done it yet but…” 

“Is the mission done?” Kirishima asked, his hair down and free of product. You forced a small smile and nod, “you could say that.” You start walking towards the steps while Midoriya decided to stay in the common room with everyone else. Mina catches up to you and calls out your name.

You turn around and raised your brows at her. “Are you alright? Or do you want to talk about something?” You give her a smile, “I’m fine, Mina. I’m just incredibly tired right now and need some shut eye.” She rubs her elbow nervously, turning the other way, “that’s actually something I want to talk to you about.” 

You looked at her, waiting for her to finish. “Can we… talk? Please? It would mean a lot to me.” You raised your eyebrows and before you could even reply someone steps in behind Mina, “would also mean a lot to me.”

You look at them both in shock, not realizing where this conversation was heading. “Shinsou? You too?” The boy nods his head slowly, eyes darting on the ground while his hand reaches for his nape, “we’ve been worried about you and… I think it’s time you answer some of our questions.”

“Or just… talk to us?” Mina adds, giving you a friendly smile with worried eyes. You look at them both and took a deep breath. Finally, you nodded your head and decided that this was best discussed outside. The three of you slipped out of the dorms and made it to the back of the Heights Alliance without getting noticed by anyone. 

There was this awkward silence between you and your friends which caused you to feel suffocated, coughing and turning the other direction, “so what is it that you guys wanted to ask?” 

They both exchanged glances at one another before Mina finally steps forward towards you, “we won’t ask you any details about your missions since we know that that’s private information. What we want to know is how you’ve been doing.”

You parted your lips but Shinsou cuts you off, “and cut the you being okay act. We can clearly see you’re hurting and it’s not good if you keep hiding it. We’re not that blind.” His words cut you like a knife, but you can’t blame him. Looking back at your behavior it was clear as day that you’ve just distanced yourself from everyone.

Mina looks back at the purple boy with a worried look, about to calm him down until he saw the pain in his eyes as well. You take a deep breath and finally let out, “I’m sorry.” The two looked at you in shock but you kept your head down. 

She walks up to you and holds you by your shoulders, “everything is going to be okay. You don’t have to apologize for anything—” 

“You two have been very patient with me, please let me speak.” Mina slowly nods her head while Shinsou avoided your gaze, hands tucked deep inside his pockets. “At first Midnight was going to recruit Midoriya for this mission, but after some thinking she ended up changing her decision.” 

“This mission… I promised Midnight I won’t leak any of the information she told me since if I do, that’ll only drag more people in this mission which is the last thing I want and need right now. Especially if it’s everyone I love and care about.” You take a deep breath, “for safety reasons and to avoid a repeat of last year, she decided to drop me as well.” 

“I’m upset believe me, but right now I guess the decision hasn’t sunk in my brain yet. It’ll… take me some time for sure and I think that’s what I need right now. But of course, I need to explain to you both what has been happening to me, right?” 

“(Y/N)—”

“It’s perfectly fine, Mina. I’ll move on from this. I’m just upset that I spent nearly 2 months on this mission only to be dropped. Completely feels like I wasted all my time and energy on nothing, but…” you forced out a chuckle, “I’ll be fine.” 

She gives you a sad look before pulling you into a tight hug. Slowly, you hugged her bag and rested your chin on her shoulder while she rubs your back. “Tell you what, why don’t we play some Uno later? I’ll wait for you to get some shut eye or your alone time since I’m sure you’re exhausted and need time to think.” 

You say your goodbyes to Mina and now you were left alone with Shinsou. 

The silence was even more painful than before since this was clearly a different environment from just a few seconds ago. He takes a deep breath and exhales, finally meeting your eyes. “Are you done with the act?” 

You look at him in shock, confused. He chuckles, “you’re getting better and better at lying I’m impressed. If you’re not lying then you’re getting better at hiding things. Even from your close friends that have been there for you since the beginning.” 

“Toshi, I’m not lying or hiding anything—” 

“Look me in the eyes and say that again.” 

You chocked turned away slowly, causing him to force out a chuckle again, “just as I expected.” 

“You don’t understand. You don’t understand the situation I’m in right now.” Your voice starts to tremble, fists clenching so hard that your knuckles are getting paler. “That wouldn’t be a problem if you were just more open. Listen, I used to believe that this mission was good for you since this will give you experience, but it has done nothing but change you.” 

“And here you were telling me that we shouldn’t hide things from each other.” He laughs, “this is a waste of time. Talk to me or Mina once you get your shit together—”

“I don’t even know if I want to be a hero anymore…” 

He abruptly stops walking and turns to look at you with wide eyes. Finally, looking up, you locked eyes with him and forced out a smile while tears flowed down your cheeks, “I don’t know what to do anymore, Toshi…” 

“Why are you…” you bit your lower lip to stop it from quivering, hugging yourself with your arms as you inhaled a shaky breath, “if being a Pro Hero is like this… then I don’t want to be one…” the pain in your voice suddenly wakes Shinsou up from reality, guilt starts swallowing him whole.

The last thing he ever wanted was to hurt you and now he has done it. Shinsou walks up to you and pulls you into his chest, “take deep breaths, alright? Long and steady ones.” His warm embrace starts to calm you down slightly. “Now… I want you to start over from the beginning.”

“What happened during your mission for you to say that?” 

You kept choking on your own tears and could only blurt out one name.

_“Kim…”_

Kim stretches her arms in the air before she reaches for her cup of coffee and takes a sip from it. She puts it down and starts texting you, asking how the meeting went. 

After a minute, someone knocks on the door. “You’re here early.” She was shocked you haven’t opened the door yourself yet since the knocking continued. She sighs, “did you forget your keys again?” She gets up from her seat and walks towards the door.

“Gee, what did I tell you about forgetting your—” 

“Kim Ito?” A man in a suit asks. Kim looks up at him and nods, “that’s me.” Suddenly more men start entering her apartment which causes her to panic once she saw that they took away her laptop and put it in a plastic sealed bag, “hey that’s mine!” 

“Kim Ito we’ve received reports that you’ve been trying to take restricted information. Which is why we’ll be doing an investigation.” They grab her and escorted her outside of the building, “you guys made a mistake, I didn’t do anything.” 

“We’ll be the judge of that. For the time being you’ll be staying at the station until it’s all over.” 

“Can I at least make a call? This is highly unprofessional and deserve an explanation—” 

“There was also a report that you may or may not be involved in the most recent drug exchange.” Their grip on her tightens which causes her to let out a yelp, “who reported this exactly? Was it Midnight?” 

“We cannot hand you any piece of information. The source requested that they remain anonymous.” She thought of every possible thing, but was mostly thinking about you. Have you been captured as well? Where are you? How did they find out? 

Shinsou listens to everything you had just said. No words left his lips since he wasn’t expecting at all. “Maybe Stain was right about Pro Heroes… maybe just maybe… we’re all being brainwashed.” He pulls you away and holds onto you tightly, “look at me.” He leans forward.

“You’re okay, got it? You just need time to rest. Why don’t we head up to your room and—”

You took a step away from him, escaping his gentle hold as you shook your head at him. “That’s the problem, Shinsou… as ironic it may sound… you’re also being brainwashed.” He looks at you with wide eyes, “you’re just—” 

You shake your head and start walking away, “I can’t blame you for thinking that I’m insane for saying that since it has always been a long dream of mine to become one but after this incident… I might just drop out.” 

He didn’t move an inch and just heard the door close, no longer feeling your presence. He looks up at the sky and lets out a cuss. “What the fuck is happening.” 

You locked yourself in your room and sat on your bed. Finally, you were letting out all of the tears you’ve been holding back since the news. The only thing you want right now is to be alone by yourself. You’ve dealt with so much and now you’ve hit rock bottom, not seeing a speck of light anywhere. 

You still remember the way Midnight casually told you the plan and the questions that filled your mind. _Has she done this before? Why is she calm about all of this?_

Then it hits you that you were most likely right about everything. From the secrets to the framing and the killing, it all started to make sense. **This** is what heroes do. When Midnight told you that the best decision would be to snitch on Kim and have her temporarily “arrested”, you were beyond shocked. 

In fact, you were surprised she even came up with that idea and how calm and collective she was being. This wasn’t just her being “cool and professional” around her sidekick, this was a face of someone that has probably done worse. 

The pain you felt in your chest was beyond anything you’ve felt in the past. Your spirits weren’t just crushed, but your dreams too. The thought of you looking up to these heroes as a kid disgusts you in everyway possible. You asked Midnight if you could see Kim, but she suggested that you don’t for now.

You said nothing because deep down, you knew it wasn’t happening any time soon or even at all. 

Later that evening, Mina actually did try to call for you. She kept trying and trying until came to the conclusion that you really weren’t going to open your door for her. And as much as she wanted to have you escape your thoughts and emotions, she knew that you only needed time and nothing else. 

For the entire weekend, you locked yourself in your own room and had some of your friends leave some food on your doorstep. You actually ate some of the meals they left out, but you only took a few bites before leaving it out once again. 

Your classmates start to worry and they also notice how much Shinsou has changed as well. He has gotten a lot more distant than he already was to begin with which caused your classmates to suspect something. Mina was hurt and affected the most though.

This wasn’t looking good for anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit is getting angsty now hope you enjoyed <3 idk but i think this ch isn't the best hh : ( i'm sorry


	47. Heart to Heart

You were wrapped in your blanket, staring off into space while your thoughts and emotions swallow you whole. It feels like you’ve been this way for months, but it has only been 2 days. You didn’t even realize it until you heard a knock on the door and it was Mina asking you about school.

“Hey… we’ll be off to school now.” She forces out a smile and waits for you to reply. As always, it felt like she was talking to a brick wall, getting zero response at all. All of your friends exchange the same worried looks to one another, Uraraka and Jirou patting Mina in the back for reassurance before they all start walking downstairs.

You buried your face into your pillow, the wetness from your tears still present. Your eyes were sore and red, nose stuffed, body was heavy, everything was just not going your way. Not like you wanted it to anyway. 

The sound of your classmates walking down the hall to leave for school was starting to slowly fade away. Once the Heights Alliance felt peaceful and free of people, your eyes finally start to shut. You didn’t like being awake, forced to deal with your thoughts that were constantly overflowing every second. 

Then again it wasn’t like you were getting much sleep anyway. Your body would force itself to wakeup every 10 minutes of sleep and at this point you didn’t know what to do with yourself. You turn to your side and saw your phone resting on your bedside table. 

Hand reaching towards it, you quickly stopped and turned your back at the device, isolating yourself from reality completely even if it killed you. Shutting your eyes again, as always, you start wishing to yourself that you never wake up. 

Once you slipped to dreamland, you were again faced with the same dream to deal with. Or should you say, nightmare. 

You were all alone in a dark boxed room and slowly scenes start playing in front of you that feel so real and you were pretty much sure they are. You’d see dark figures which you assume were Pro Heroes having meetings that involved corruption, murdering, manipulation, capitalism, hiding the real truth and twisting and ruining innocent lives just to gain from the public, and etc.

Like always, you woke up in cold sweat, out of breath. You sat up and held your face with both of your hands, trying to remain calm. You noticed how darker the dreams were getting and at this point you knew there wasn’t any saving. 

You break away from your train of thought when you heard someone knocking on the door. You glanced at the clock and noticed that it was still pretty early for anyone to be home yet. It has only been an hour since classes started so you start to worry, but remained silent. 

“I know you’re hiding. Do you mind letting me in?” Your eyes widened at the voice, not expecting it at all. Then again, you should’ve since you were basically skipping school without asking for permission.

“I’m sick, Aizawa- _sensei_.” You respond to your teacher. “It’ll only be for a few minutes, (Y/N).” His voice was calm and gentle like always. You hug onto your knees and started thinking to yourself. You never doubted your homeroom teacher until now. Could you really trust him?

“I’m not mad at you. I just came here to talk. I won’t force you to attend school, alright?” You gulped and flipped your blanket off of you, slowly walking towards the door and welcomed your teacher with a tired and worried look on your face. 

It was awkward at first but you eventually gestured him to come inside, closing the door behind him. “Why don’t you take a seat.” He says, gesturing to the bed while he decided to sit on the chair by the desk, turning it around so he would be facing you.

You sat down on your bed and clasped your hands together, trying to hide your nervousness. He leans forward on his legs and looks at you, “how have you been feeling lately?” You avert your eyes away and glued them to the ground, “I’ve been okay I guess… still pretty tired.” 

He hums, “understandable.” The silence between you two causes him to inhale a breath, “I’ll cut to the chase since I’m sure you don’t want to see me right now or anyone of that matter. Have you decided to quit as a hero?” 

You looked at him in shock and judging from your reaction, he knew he was right. Your fail to reply was already another obvious answer since words couldn’t seem to leave your lips. “It’s…” you look down again, fidgeting with your fingers, “it’s complicated right now…” 

“I won’t get mad at you, alright? Whatever your decision is, it’s all up to you. As your teacher I have to guide you and teach you what is right and wrong. And based on your current state, it seems like you’ve caught yourself in a slump.” 

“Did they… tell you to check up on me?” He shakes his head at your question, “I asked them why you were absent and knew right away something was up when they said you were sick.” You raised your brows at him which makes him fold his arms on his chest and lean back, “they all looked very worried and hesitant.” 

You slowly nodded at his response, “I see...” he takes a deep breath and sighs, “would you like time off from campus?” Your eyes quickly widen, looking at him with a shocked expression, not understanding what he meant by that. 

“I’ll call your parents and ask them to come pick you up if you’d like. I’ll ask Principal Nezu to excuse you for a week or two.” You shook your head, “that won’t be necessary, sir.” He gives you a worried look, “if you’re worried about your friend, I’ll do my best to ensure her safety.” 

You don’t bother looking at him and just nodded. Your trust on Pro Heroes has never reached this low before and now you were doubting your own teacher who has done nothing but guided you with patience. Sure Midnight was your mentor, but Aizawa was a whole different thing. 

You remembered your conversation with everyone one night about how much Aizawa resembles a father. Unfortunately, you’re not sure if you could say that again. 

He takes a deep breath and gets up from the chair before taking his seat beside you. “I had a friend once.” You took a quick glance at him to see what expression he had on his face. Although it may be hard to read his expression most of the time, there was a different aura to him. 

Like he was showing you a different side.

“He was someone I used to be closed with. As you can tell, he’s no longer with us unfortunately.” You weren’t responsive, but you were actually listening to every word he was saying. He knew that. “We used to be classmates during my time here in U.A., and he ended up getting killed during work-studies.” 

“I’m not telling you this just so I could change your mind, right now what’s important to me is that **you** know that you want and won’t listen to others.” He trails off before going back to the topic, “it was a tough time for me since… honestly I always knew that he would be a better hero than me and that we’d graduate together.”

“I even started doubting my dreams. If this is what I wanted, if this is what the world needed.” You don’t realize it, but you were actually getting invested in his story to the point you even asked a question, “did it make you doubt the agencies and the real world?” You asked in spite, but didn’t think that he would respond almost immediately.

“You got that right.” You looked at him with wide eyes before turning away, apologizing. He chuckles softly, “it’s alright. I can’t blame you. And judging by your question, you’re going through the same thing, correct?” You don’t respond again, feeling ashamed that you were being rude to him when he was just being nice. 

He exhales, “but I didn’t find out until last year that… he was actually alive.” You turned your gaze back at him, “you found him? But I thought he—” he nods, “that’s what I thought as well.”

“Well, how is he? I’m sure you two tried catching up, right?” He doesn’t respond which makes you come to a conclusion. “He’s not the same person I used to know. I tried talking to him, but he doesn’t remember me or recall a memory at all.” You looked at your teacher, feeling bad that he probably had to go through so much on his own.

You can’t even imagine yourself in his shoes. 

“Right now, all I want is your trust. I know this might be hard for you, but I need you to trust me on this. I’m going to watch over Kim and make sure nothing bad happens to her, alright?” 

Tears start flowing down your cheeks as you leaned forward to cup your face with both hands, sobs escaping your lips while Aizawa rubs your back. “It’s just so hard right now…” you said in a shaky voice, feeling your whole body tremble in fear. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” You both stay like that until you finally calmed down. You finally leaned back and wiped your tears using the back of your hands. He suddenly lets out a small laugh, “we’ve been in this situation before, haven’t we?” You looked at him with raised brows, trying to recall. 

Then you remembered the time Aizawa and All Might went to your home to ask your mother regarding the Heights Alliance. You were in a similar situation. You were locked in your room for days and your mom knocked on your door to tell you that your teachers came by to visit.

“That’s all I wanted to discuss about. Get some shut eye and rest. Don’t forget to inform me if you decide that you want time off from school so I can inform Nezu immediately.” 

When Aizawa was just about to leave, you call for him. He turns around and raises his eyebrows at you. 

“Thank you. For everything, I mean.” He replies back with a nod, closing the door behind him.

* * *

“As you all may know, there has been—” Aizawa continues his discussion in class while everyone stayed silent in their respective seats. The silent was quiet as ever, but it wasn’t the usual quiet everyone was used to. There was something heavy in the air that just caused people to not talk at all. 

“Is there anyone that could—” 

The door opens which caused everyone wake up from their thoughts, turning their heads towards the door at the back of the classroom, checking to see who had just entered. 

And there you were, standing in your uniform with a small smile on your face. You quickly bowed to apologize, “sorry I’m late, Aizawa- _sensei_.” He simply nods his head, “it’s alright. Come in and take your seat.” You closed the door behind you and walked towards your seat, putting your bag down. 

Everyone’s eyes never left you, they all looked at you with wide and confused eyes. 

You turn your head to Jirou, “sorry I’m late, how much did I miss today?” She snaps out of your trance, “oh um— not much actually, don’t worry about it.” You placed your hand on your chest and let out a relieved breath, “thank god.” 

Although it was weird for your classmates to see that you were acting like nothing ever happened, they were also relieved to know that you were finally back to normal even though it was strange that you did a whole 180 on them. The moment the bell rings to signal everyone that it was lunch, everyone got up from their seats.

Shinsou takes a deep breath before sighing. Just when he was about to get up, he notices that someone was standing in front of his desk. He looks up and sees that it was you. “(Y/N)?” You tilt your head at him and gave him a warm smile, “want to eat lunch with me? I made you some myself.” 

You show him two bento boxes. He doesn’t say anything and just looks at you in shock, not knowing what to say. “So? Is that a yes?” He snaps out of it and nods, rubbing his nape lightly, “sure…” 

He gets up from his seat and you both start walking down the hall together. Shinsou looks over your shoulder and offers to carry the bento boxes for you, causing you to let out a scoff, “it’s perfectly fine, you know. It’s like they weight 80 pounds or something.” You joked and laughed warmly.

Shinsou doesn’t laugh, confused as ever. Last time he checked you wanted nothing to do with him or anyone. What suddenly changed your mind? 

You both made it to your usual spot: the garden. You sat down and he sits down beside you slowly, keeping his distance. You hand him his bento and put yours on your lap. You open it up and was about to dig in until he asks you a question.

“Is everything… alright?” You stopped and put your utensils down, looking at him with raised brows, “yeah of course, how come?” He sighs, “it’s just… your mood completely changed compared to how you were this morning. You’re not being forced or forcing yourself to go to school, are you?”

You put your bento to the side and made your way towards the vending machine nearby, taking out your wallet from your skirt’s pocket. “That would be the case, but it’s not. Do you want anything?” He shakes his head, “then what caused you to suddenly be okay out of nowhere? You locked yourself in your room for the whole weekend without talking or messaging anyone. And now you’re back to normal as if nothing ever happened.”

“Not only that but you’re even talking to me? Out of all people? And you even made me lunch… someone that hurt you badly.” The machine drops your drink which cuts the silence between you both. You take it out and made your way back, taking your seat beside him.

“You’re right and I can’t blame you for being suspicious with my behavior. I probably should’ve explained my situation, huh.” You hand him your drink which he opens for you before handing it back. You take a sip and offered him a sip which he takes.

“Aizawa- _sensei_ actually came to visit me earlier today.” He almost chokes on your drink, looking at you with furrowed brows, “did he force you to come to school?” You quickly shook your head, “it’s nothing like that I promise! He actually came by and talked to me about something.” 

He puts your drink to the side and listens closely. “He asked me if I wanted to take time off from school for a while. He said that they can send me home for a week or two until I’ve come to a decision if I want to dropout or not.” His expression quickly changes into a sad one. 

“(Y/N), if Aizawa- _sensei_ is—”

“Toshi, he’s not, alright?” You placed your hand over his, catching him off guard. “We had a heart to heart talk and he even revealed something to me that happened to him years ago. Although I still don’t trust Pro Heroes like I used to, I do believe that his words and intentions are good.” 

“Not that I’m doubting you, but… how could you be so sure?” You couldn’t help but chuckle, “I just have a feeling, I guess. You know how I get.” He nods slowly, “yeah…”

“So, have you made your decision? If you did isn’t it a bit too early? Won’t you regret it if you decide too fast?” You laughed at his worried tone, “don’t worry, I thought long and hard about it and I’m sure that this will be my final decision no matter what.” 

He looks at you and waits. You looked back at him and flashed a bright smile, “to be the greatest hero out there!” 

And just like that, your words gave Shinsou a warm feeling inside of him. A feeling that he hasn’t felt in almost forever. He shakes his head at you, failing to hide his wide smile. Shinsou started feeling foolish; he couldn’t believe that he even thought for a second that you would quit being a hero. If anyone deserved to be a hero, it would be you for sure.

“What are you laughing about?” You looked at him while he laughs softly, “it’s nothing. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I missed you a lot, idiot.” 

You playfully rolled your eyes at him, “whatever. I missed you too, insomniac.”


	48. Tickets

“Is it really necessary for you to carry all of that by yourself?” Mina points at the stack of papers you were carrying behind you using your telekinesis quirk. You sighed, “it makes for great practice, don’t you think?” Your pink friend heaves a breath while rubbing the back of her head, “you really haven’t changed since First Year, haven’t you?”

You couldn’t help but giggle, “who do you think am I?” Needless to say, she takes a bunch from the stack of papers floating behind you and hugged them tightly on her chest, “and what kind of friend would I be if I just let you do things on your own?” 

Its been four days since school started and you just can’t believe that you’re in your final year of high school. It felt like it was just yesterday when you entered the gates of U.A. and met everyone for the first time. And now you are all about to graduate and leave school to become heroes. 

“Are you busy later?” She asks you as you turn your head to look at her and let out a nervous laugh, causing her to pout. “He beat me to it, didn’t he?” You nodded and gave her a sad smile, “I’m really sorry.”

Mina scoffs, “you don’t need to be sorry for anything, it’s all his fault. Whatever, I’ll win next time.” 

“You’re all bark and no bite.” A mischievous laugh came out of nowhere, startling you both. Mina forms a fist and starts threatening the indigo haired male, “shut it, eyebags!” Although he had his back facing you both, you and Mina knew that there was a wide smirk plastered on his lips. 

You didn’t know what caused them to behave like this. You noticed how close they’ve gotten ever since you stopped patrolling for good. The two of them decided to turn you into a competition and to see who wins you over. Well, it was mostly Mina who insisted and you just assumed that Shinsou had enough and decided to give in.

It was troublesome at times but it was nice to see two of your best friends getting along. There were times where the three of you would hangout and eventually turned to a trio. But it wasn’t all the time since Shinsou and Mina still enjoyed competing with one another.

“You have me right now at least.” You say to her but she was too fired up to care about your remarks, “and if I keep you all to myself, he won’t have time to spend with you!” She laughs maniacally as if she was some sort of villain, “you’re a genius, (Y/N)! I expect nothing less from you!” 

You laughed nervously, “didn’t you do that last time which caused you and Shinsou to… y’know,” she scoffs, “who cares?” You gave her a disapproving nod, “well that only started a domino effect of disaster.” 

Once Mina remembers what happened, she couldn’t help but smile sheepishly, “I was just kidding! Obviously. I would never go as low as to sabotage our competition. That’d be me showing weakness.” She puffs up, making you smile at her lightly.

You two made it to the teacher’s lounge and gave all of the papers to Aizawa. He sends you both off and it was time to head back to the classroom until someone from down the hall calls for your name. You turn around and saw a blond waving towards your direction followed by someone with ginger hair.

“Neito?” You smiled widely seeing his entrance as he did dramatic poses along the way, “have you missed me?” You playfully rolled your eyes, “how was Europe? You literally missed a whole week worth of school because of it.” 

He flutters his eyelashes at you, “did you miss me that much?” Kendo sighs and pushes him out of your way, “don’t mind him, he thinks that everyone has been sad without him and that his presence is nothing but a gift from the heavens above.” She whispers to you but makes sure he hears it.

He runs his fingers through his hair, “why must you say it in such a way, dearest Kendo?” He shakes his head with a sigh, folding his arms on his chest. “Anyways, I bought you a little souvenir while I was in Europe. Would you like to take a guess?” 

You hummed, trying to think while Kendo and Mina were talking among themselves, leaving you and Monoma alone. “Is it perhaps an Eiffel tower keychain?” You asked as a joke but that somehow looked like it hit him physically. Your eyes widened, “shit did I get that right—” 

He laughs silently, leaning his head back and placing a hand over his face, “have I gotten… predictable?” Before you could reply he shakes his head to snap out of the trance he was just in, “nonsense. That cannot be right. Has your Quirk perhaps given you **mind reading powers**?” 

His eyes were fuming of passion and determination to the point you couldn’t even tell if he was joking or not, his head leaning forward and just inches away from touching yours. Kendo spots the discomfort in your eyes which causes her to grab him by the back of his collar, pulling him away from you, “that’s enough.” 

“Well, nonetheless, here you go. I hope you use it on everything.” You take the keychain from him and smiled widely at it, “thank you, I will!” Mina looks over your shoulder before pointing to herself, “what about me? Where’s my keychain?” 

Monoma gives her a slightly disgusted look, “and why would I give someone from Class A—” he receives a critical hit from Kendo from behind his neck, causing him to pass out before he could even finish his sentence. She waves at us with a smile, “sorry about that. Not to cut our conversation short, but we have to get going. It was nice seeing you both!” She says while dragging Monoma’s unconscious body behind her.

“That was… normal.” You both burst into laughter, heading the opposite direction. 

While you were packing up your things, someone puts their bag on your desk while they stretched their shoulder, groaning silently. You looked over and saw that it was Shinsou. 

“Training was that hard?” He sighs, “I guess you could say that.”

You stand up and offer to carry his bag, but he kindly rejects. “Do you want to stop by at Recovery Girl’s office? I don’t mind waiting.” Shinsou shook his head, “it’s fine, it’s not that serious. I’m sure someone in there is on their death bed, the last thing she needs is someone who just stretched a muscle.” 

You were finally done packing up and said goodbyes to your classmates before heading out with Shinsou. You looked at him with knitted brows, but his face remains forward. “Didn’t you have training with Aizawa last night as well? You should really get that checked.” You lecture him but he just chuckles, “it’s really not that bad.”

You suddenly stopped your tracks, “wait a minute, didn’t you say that we’re going cycling together this afternoon? Isn’t your shoulder—” 

“Is this new? I don’t remember seeing this this morning.” Shinsou changes the topic. You looked as to where his eyes were and noticed that they were on your bag. You looked closely and he was talking about a keychain dangling down beside two cat keychains. 

“Oh, right! Mina and I bumped into Monoma and Kendo earlier and he gave me this.” He holds onto it and looks at it while you two walked, eyeing the small item with half lidded eyes, “Monoma’s back from his trip?” He lets go and shoves both hands inside his pockets.

You hummed, “I’m assuming he arrived yesterday or this morning. Assuming from the dark circles under his eyes, he must still be jetlagged. You haven’t seen him today?” He shook his head, “I haven’t seen him at all.” He rubs the back of his neck, “maybe tomorrow.” 

Just when you two had finally left the school building, a loud voice calls for both of your attention from behind. “Speak of the devil.” Shinsou says before he even turns around, recognizing that voice right away. 

“We meet again, (Y/N). Greetings to you as well, Hitoshi.” The blond says with enthusiasm which Shinsou nods in response, “likewise.” You noticed that Monoma was alone which was a strange sight to see since he’s usually accompanied by one of his classmates all the time.

“Neito, have you been following us?” You asked as a joke which causes him to widen his eyes in shock. “Me? Follow you both?” He scoffs, “I don’t know what made you think that way. But since we’re all here—”

You and Shinsou exchanged glances, clearly seeing that he was lying. He shows off four tickets, “there’s this festival happening tomorrow night in Tokyo and I just happened to get myself some tickets. I decided that it might be best to invite the two of you.” 

You furrowed your brows, “not that I’m rejecting your offer, but… I kinda expected that you’d invite your friends from your class.” Monoma sighs and folds his arms on his chest, “I would’ve but…” he gives you a wide smile and tilts his head, “consider yourselves lucky.” 

He says and hands you two tickets. You look over to Shinsou who was silent. “Are you sure Monoma? It’s okay if you—” 

The blond cuts you off and covers his ears, “it’s simply rude to reject someone’s offer, don’t you think?” Before you could reply, he continues, “I’m inviting someone with me as well so fear not. I was planning on giving you the ticket a while ago, but I thought it was best if I told _both_ of you.” 

You turn to face Shinsou, “well? Do you have something to do tomorrow night?” He thinks for a while, “I don’t think so… I’ll ask Aizawa- _sensei_.” 

You couldn’t help but let out a giggle, “and if he can’t come, I can invite Mina, right?” You said to tease him and it worked. “I didn’t say that I was busy. I’m free tomorrow.” He deadpans quickly causing you to laugh even more. 

Monoma nods, “well, that’s all I wanted to say. I’ll text you details so make sure to keep an eye on my messages.” He waves you two goodbye and starts walking away to where his dorm was.

You look down at the tickets, “these kind of look expensive, don’t you think?” Shinsou nodded, “he does come from a wealthy family.” You handed the other ticket to Shinsou, “here you go.” 

He takes it and puts it in his back pocket while you placed yours inside of your bag. “I didn’t even get the chance to ask him what kind of festival it is. Isn’t it kind of strange though? I mean… it’s not summer.” Shinsou shrugs lightly, “you can probably search it up in the internet later.” 

You two eventually made it back to your dorm and the moment you opened the door, people were already yelling. “Dude, cut it out this is definitely your fault!” Sero yells at Kaminari who was on the ground like a ball, hugging onto his knees tightly.

You walked over to Kirishima while Shinsou closes the door behind him. “What’s happening?” You asked which makes him sigh with a faint smile, “they’re talking about some sort of ticket. Apparently they didn’t make it in time to buy some.” 

“Ticket for what exactly?” 

You yelled loudly when you felt someone grab onto your ankle, causing you to flinch. You looked down and it was Kaminari, on the ground on his stomach while his hands were wrapped around your ankle, “to the festival…” he says in a weak voice.

Your face immediately turned bright red, just realizing that he could practically see what was under your skirt. Sero notices and quickly drags him away, making him let go of you. Because of that behavior, Sero starts lecturing Kaminari from the side about looking up at girl’s skirts. 

You didn’t mind though, but it wasn’t like that. Judging from Kaminari’s reaction you doubt he even noticed what he was doing or even took a peek. Something clicks in your mind which causes you to take something out from your bag. “Do you mean this festival?” 

Sero and Kaminari froze, turning their heads at you. The moment their eyes saw the ticket, they immediately ran towards you and snatched the ticket from your grasp, “is this… what I think it is?” And they start doing everything towards the ticket: smelling, feeling, and before the blond could take a lick, Sero slaps him out of it.

“Is this festival that big of a deal?” 

They both gasped, shocked to hear someone who has the ticket say that.

“You’re telling me you have tickets to a festival you don’t know ANYTHING about?!” 

You slowly nodded your head, afraid what they’ll do next. They start explaining everything to you in the most chaotic and messy way possible, but you managed to get some of the details. 

“So… it’s basically a festival that has… exclusive people in it? Along with cool games and even rides?” You said with a brow raised while the two of them nodded in confidence. “This only happens every 15 years so they don’t happen often.”

“Right… but isn’t it the same as a normal festival? Apart from the ‘exclusive people’.” You quoted with your fingers. “I guess you’re right, but wouldn’t it be cool? It’s definitely something worth bragging about. Not only that but I heard since the tickets are limited, the lines to things aren’t even that long.” 

You nodded slowly, _“I wonder how Neito got his hands on these tickets. Maybe it’s through family connection.”_ You thought to yourself.

“Also, how did you get your hands in those tickets? Especially since you didn’t even know about it.” You looked over to Shinsou who was talking to Iida by the kitchen. “Neito actually invited us.”

The two looked even more shocked than they originally were, “ **us?** ” And that was when you realized you fucked up. You turned your head the other way and forced out a laugh, “I misspoke. He only invited me and the two other friends.” 

It wasn’t long until Sero called Shinsou, making you shudder. He stops mid-convo with Iida to look at his classmate before he swung a shoulder around the taller male, “do you have plans tomorrow night?” 

He looks at him with furrowed brow, “yes, how come?” Sero nods his head with a wide smile, “so you were lying, (Y/N).” You still had your head turning the other way, feeling like you just added fuel to the fire. 

Shinsou folded his arms and sighs, “if you wanted to ask me out on a date, I might be free next week.” He says as a joke, but as usual he kept his composure and held a straight face, not batting an eye. Sero was obviously caught off guard, “quit playing man!” Earning him a smirk from the indigo haired.

“Just admit that you two are going to the festival with Monoma, jeez.” 

You hummed, “it’s not that we’re hiding it, it’s just that we didn’t want you two to be upset about it. Plus we didn’t even know it was that big of a deal until you and Sero brought it up.” 

Kaminari sighs, folding his arms on his chest as he turned his head away from you both, “why would we be upset?” You turned to look at Shinsou and he gave you the same look. _“You’re obviously sulking right now.”_

“Now, now, let’s all get along. I’m sure (Y/N) and Shinsou didn’t mean any harm.” Kirishima steps in and laughs nervously. As always, his presence seemed to calm everyone’s emotions down.

Just when things were starting to cool down, you feel your phone vibrate inside of your pocket, making you take it out to see if it was a text from Monoma. And you were right, it was a text from none other than the blond. 

**Neito**  
_Shall we meet tomorrow by the entrance?_

Shinsou looks over your shoulder, his height much taller than last year, “he texted you already?” You looked up at him and nodded, “he says we should meet by the entrance tomorrow.” 

“Do you know where that is?” You stopped and let out a sheepish laugh, “no but I’m sure it won’t be hard to find. It is an entrance. Plus, won’t security be strict? Afterall this event only happens every 15 years… I don’t know what the occasion is but…” 

Your phone vibrates in your hand once again. 

**Neito**  
_And for our outfits, we’ll all be wearing kimonos. If you don’t have any, you can rent some in the festival. Don’t forget to tell Shinsou. If he refuses, tell him that I take back his invite._

You heard a grumble at your side, making you laugh. “You read that message, right?” You didn’t bother to look at your friend, seeing his grumpy expression clear in your head as you respond back to Monoma. He shoves his hands inside his pockets and sighs, “I’m not mad that I’ll be wearing a kimono, I’m mad at the fact that he thinks I’ll reject his request.” 

You raised your eyebrows and gave him a teasing smile, “you weren’t going to?” 

He nods simply, “kimonos are actually comfortable anyway.” He states and you can’t help but agree. Since Monoma mentioned that there was a rental, you decided not to worry about it. “Will you be renting one?” He asked. 

You hummed and shrugged, “probably. I have one at home and I didn’t bring it with me since… honestly, I didn’t think I would be going to be needing one during school. Momo bought the girls kimonos last year during the summer festival. It was her first time to attend one so she got a little too excited.” You explained and he nods to every word.

“It’s shocking how she doesn’t know how rich she is.” You sighed and smiled lightly, “you can say that again.” 

“What about you, Toshi?” 

“Would you believe me if I said that I haven’t worn a kimono since middle school?” You looked at him with wide eyes, “you don’t mean the time we were forced to all perform a song and dance, do you? That was like… almost 6 years ago.”

He lets out a shaky sigh as if you just relived a memory he chose to bury in his head, “that was it.” 

Though you and Shinsou attended the same middle school together, you both can’t help but forget about that since you really only started interacting a lot more when you two came here to U.A.

There was a situation when you both asked the question, “what if we were both close during middle school? Would things be different right now?” 

“Festivals aren’t really my thing. Plus, I don’t really get invited for those things so—”

You looked at him with a raised brow, “didn’t you reject Kaminari’s invite last year?” He looks at you in shock, “he told you?” You couldn’t help but chuckle, “he texted me asking if I was going with you since you rejected his offer without an explanation and of course I told him no and explained that I was going with the girls.” 

“I don’t really have time for those things. Mom wasn’t home and the cats—”

“I get it, I get it. But hey, at least you’ll be experiencing your first ever festival!” You exclaimed with a bright smile to which he looks away from, “this isn’t my first festival. I went as a kid.” 

“Then I’ll change it to uh… our first festival together?”

“We’ve gone to festivals together, haven’t we? When we were first years and also last year.” You glared at him and he looks at you confused. “You know how much I hate smartasses. You get what I mean.” 

He finally snaps out of it and laughs. “Quit teasing me you fucking jerk, I’ll beat your ass.” 

“That’s an empty threat and you know it.” 

Before you could fight back with a response, your phone rings. Someone was calling you. 

“You’re a pretty busy person this year.” He comments. You look at the caller ID and it was Aizawa’s. Your eyes quickly widened and Shinsou noticed the sudden change of your expression. “Give me a minute.” You hold up a finger before running to a corner where no one was around, accepting the call. 

Shinsou looks at you from afar before shrugging his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa they're all 3rd years now :,) oh how time flies
> 
> sorry if things are getting faster, i kinda wanted to focus on the main problem instead of letting you guys wait for another 2 months for a continuation. this fic is almost at its ending after all <3


	49. The Plan

“Aizawa- _sensei_?” You looked around to see if anyone was close by. “I have good and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?” He says right off the bat. As always, he was straight forward than ever. 

You’ve been keeping contact with him for a few months now. Ever since your conversation with him, he has kept his promise and has been trying to keep an eye on Kim. You haven’t told anyone but Shinsou about Kim’s situation, but even he doesn’t know what you and Aizawa have been talking about privately. 

“Give me the bad news.” You respond, biting your fingernail as you waited for him to reply. “Bad news is Kim is still locked away and they’re still keeping an eye on her.” 

When Aizawa first told you about it your heart was broken. Why did they keep her locked for months? Wasn’t this supposed to be temporary? Is the mission not over yet? Isn’t this taking things too far? Kim still had school after all and not to mention a family.

Despite your conversation with him, you still don’t trust Pro Heroes. You could say the same about Aizawa, but so far, he has been the most helpful. At least more helpful than Midnight who sugarcoats her words every time you ask her about your dear friend.

_“She’s fine, she’s eating well.”_

Learning from the past, you knew it was best not to ask her specific questions.

“The bad news doesn’t stop there. I heard one of the staff that are assigned to check up on her that she has been rather cooperative in everything.” Your lack of response causes him to speak up again, “you find it strange as well, don’t you?” 

You nodded slowly, feeling your shoulders getting heavy, “yeah…” you said weakly, feeling ashamed about what you’ve done. 

It’s not like you’re being fake to everyone about your real emotions. You just refuse to think about it. You’d be lying to yourself if you really did do the right thing. The more months that passed, the more you started doubting your own morals as a human. 

You can’t blame it all on Midnight since you fell into her trap yourself when you could’ve thought about something else that could resolve the issue. You knew that more than anyone. 

“Well, the good news is I managed to get you a visitor pass.” 

Suddenly, you snapped out of your haze, “c-come again?” You asked with wide eyes, not believing what your teacher had just said. “It’s only good for one use and I had to go through a long process.”

“Does Midnight know?” You felt yourself shaking. Everything felt like a dream but also a nightmare. “No. Well, not yet at least. If she did, I don’t think it’ll be possible anymore.” You inhale a sharp breath, “should I head there right now?” 

“Not yet. But it’ll most likely be tomorrow night.” You raised your eyebrows, “t-tomorrow night? You don’t mean—”

“During the festival. I’m sure you’ve heard about it. The festival that only happens once every 15 years that invites exclusive guests and only sells limited tickets.” You cussed under your breath, lowering your head as you swung your foot side to side. 

“Did you get yourself tickets?” He asked, seeing right through you. You laughed nervously, “yeah… Monoma invited Shinsou and I, but I mean… this is important so…” 

“You don’t sound so happy about it. I can’t blame you.” 

“No, no. It’s fine. It happens every 15 years, and this is the only chance I’ll ever get. I can’t mess things up.” You let out and he nods his head, “suit yourself. I’ll send you the address and the time you should come. Just our luck Midnight will be the host for the showcase tomorrow so her attendance is a must.” 

You leaned your head back, “this really is the only chance I’ll get to meeting Kim.” Aizawa chuckles softly, “you should be grateful.” After a minute, the call finally ends. You release a relieved breath, though you didn’t feel any lighter, at least it felt like you had a little bit of room to breathe. 

You looked down the hall and noticed Shinsou was no longer there. You grab your bag and headed up to your room to get changed. You climbed up the steps and when you reached your room you saw that Shinsou was changed into an athletic wear, eyes glued to his phone.

He spots you in his peripheral vision, making him look up from his device, “oh is your call done?” You nodded your head, “yeah it just finished. Were you waiting long?” He shoves his phone inside his pocket, “not really. Who was it?”

“It was Aizawa- _sensei_. He just needed to inform me about something.” Before he could ask, you walked towards your door and opened it, “I’ll be out in a sec.” You entered your dorm and closed the door behind you.

While changing, you decided it was best to tell Shinsou during your biking trip later. He managed to get Aizawa’s permission to leave campus for a few hours to ride a bike with you. You felt like shit that you had to cancel on plans last minute when you had just accepted Monoma’s invite.

Not only that but you told Shinsou yourself that you two will be going together. You start thinking of people that he could invite instead of you. He has gotten a lot closer to the others like Asui, Midoriya, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Jirou, and Mina. 

But Shinsou wasn’t your only concern, it was also Monoma. God knows how long he’ll sulk for. You can even tell he’ll even start avoiding you around school and will make it obvious just so you know he’s upset. _A total drama queen._

Once you changed into something more comfortable and appropriate for cycling, you headed out of your dorm and headed down the steps. While you were busy thinking to yourself, Shinsou actually texted you saying that he’ll be waiting outside with your bikes ready.

You walked right out of the Height Alliance and saw him on his phone once again. Probably watching his cat monitor that he installed during break. “Did you bring everything you need?” He asks, putting his phone away. You nodded in response and take your bike from him, “thanks. So which route are we taking this time?” 

He hums as you both start walking alongside your bikes, “east coast just so we can stop by the beach and go sightseeing for a few minutes. It all depends with you.” You shrugged, “no complains from me.” 

It has been a long while since you and Shinsou rode bikes together. Since there’s dorms now, there’s really no need to ride a bike since it’s all in walking distance. You were okay with it though, but since Shinsou likes cycling a lot, he’s more excited about this more than you are.

“Isn’t east coast a bit far? I mean, what if we end up coming back late and get in trouble because of curfew?” You both finally made it out the gates. You hopped on your bicycle and Shinsou did the same, “that’s why we have bikes.” He says confidently without a worry.

You just shook your head and sighed at him, “confident as ever.” You both start cycling together, Shinsou leading the way while you followed him behind. You start thinking to yourself when the right time to bring it up. 

Obviously, you can’t just say it to him right now while you’re cycling. Or maybe you could match his pace and say it before cycling away just to avoid him— no that’s too much. Not only that but Shinsou could easily catch up to you no problem.

Around 10 minutes have passed and you two have reached the beach. Surprisingly it wasn’t as far as you thought. Maybe it was because you two were on bikes. Shinsou gets off his bike and puts it by a bike rack just placed conveniently by the beach. 

He locks it just in case someone decides to steal it. You get off from yours and he decides to lock it for you, handing you the key. “Thanks.” You both start walking towards the sand, walking side by side as you talked about everything that happened this week. 

It was the first week of school and already, so much has happened. Since you are all on your last year of high school, there was a great increase in your workload. “I didn’t do well in Modern Literature today. I completely flunked the test.” You followed with a sigh.

“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t do well in Math.” You looked at him in shock, “you? But you’re the one that tutored me.” He lets out a chuckle, “I got too confident and made a careless mistake in each number.” 

“Which was?” 

He shook his head, “you’re going to make fun of me so I won’t tell you.”

You both laughed, finally reaching the shore. Shinsou looked at the sunset, hands tucked deep inside of his pockets while a warm smile was plastered on his lips as his luscious Indigo hair flowed in the wind. 

You looked at him with sparkling eyes, not wanting to look away but once he caught you staring, you quickly avert your eyes away, feeling embarrassed. “Something on your mind?” He brings up. 

Feeling the rising and falling of your shoulder, you took a deep breath in. This was really happening, huh. 

“Let me guess, you can’t go to the festival tomorrow night because something came up with Aizawa- _sensei_.” You looked at him with widened eyes, “how did you—”

He scoffs, “I can tell something was off after your call with him. I don’t know if you’ll get mad at me for this, but I saw his caller ID and just figured. Not only that but while you, Sero, and Kaminari were talking about the festival, he actually sent me a text saying that our practice will be cancelled tomorrow.”

“Not fair you said you were free tomorrow night!”

He shrugs simply, “I was actually planning on asking him to cancel anyway.” You raised your eyebrows, “and what made you think that he’d say yes?” He shrugged his shoulder again, “it worked one way or another, didn’t it?” 

You heaved a breath, “I was planning on telling you myself, but I guess it’s easier this way.” He nods, “you’re not very good with confrontation.” You two were silent and only the sound of waves crashing filled the void. 

“If you’re worried that I’m upset, I’m not.” He says that, but you’re still quiet and unsure if he’s lying just to be nice with you. “It would be petty of me to be upset that you cancelled a plan that was only planned like… an hour ago.” 

“But still. Weren’t you looking forward do it?” He hums, looking around to think, “I’m not so sure about that. Again, I haven’t been in a festival since I was a child so it’s hard to say. And it’ll happen again anyway so you better make up for it ‘til then.” 

You couldn’t help but chuckle, “so you’re saying we’ll just have to go together again? In what, 15 years from now?” He smiles lightly, “are you complaining?” You laughed, shaking your head, “I guess not.” 

“And since I’ve gotten better with my role as detective, this has something to do with Kim, doesn’t it?” Your smile drops as you looked at him in shock, again. “Bingo.” He says with a smug look on his face, smiling to himself confidently.

“I’ve been your friend long enough to see a pattern in terms of your behavior. I wasn’t planning on bringing it up until you brought it up yourself. Sorry if I took the spotlight from you.” He jokes, making you playfully roll your eyes at him.

“In all seriousness, I hope you’re not mad at me for… figuring these things out. It’s not like I follow you around _without your knowledge_ and gather data behind your back. You know I’m more than that.” He explains.

He runs his fingers through his hair, “you’re not mad… are you?” He says in a saddened tone. 

You couldn’t help but chuckle, “if anyone should be mad, it should be you. I’ve been keeping these things behind your back and what kind of friend does that make me?” 

“In the end of the day, you’re just doing that to protect me and everyone else, aren’t you?” You paused and didn’t respond, your hand rubbing your elbow as you looked at the ground. “If you were talking to the me from months ago then that would be another story.”

“But after putting myself in your shoes,” he stops and heaves a breath, “I’d be doing the same too, so believe me when I say that you’re doing better than I would’ve.” 

“Kind of makes me jealous.” He chuckles. You turn to face him with raised brows. “I still haven’t gotten the chance to protect you myself.” 

You break the silence by landing a punch on his arm, “hey quit it. The emotional role is for me, remember?” You managed to make him laugh, shaking his head lightly, “you’re right, this isn’t like me.”

“So, I can’t come with you tomorrow night, right? Don’t you need like… I don’t know a get-away driver or something?” You smiled, “very funny. As much as I want to bring you with me, I can’t. It’s already bad enough that I’m going since Midnight doesn’t know about it.”

His eyes widened, “wait what?” You inhaled a long breath, “to sum things up, Aizawa got me a ‘visitor pass’ without Midnight knowing. If she did find out about this, then the plan is over and I’ll end up never seeing Kim ever again.”

“So this is a mission for you to talk to Kim and explain things…” he sighs, _“what have you gotten yourself into.”_ He thought to himself, rubbing the back of his neck.

You nodded, “I need to clean the air with her and explain my current situation. I don’t even think she wants to talk to me since I basically ratted her out to Midnight and agreed to a plan I shouldn’t have.” You gave him a saddened look, “she’s been there for months and probably hasn’t gone to school.”

“Knowing how powerful Pro Heroes are, Midnight probably told her school that she’ll be dropping out for the time being… I can’t say the same about Kim’s family though. Only God knows what they’ve told them and how much they’ve twisted.” 

Shinsou inhales and exhales, “this is… a lot.” 

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you anything more than that. I will one day just not now.” He shook his head, “it’s completely fine. If it’ll make you calmer and safer, then do what you must. I just wished that I could do something to help you out.”

Then something in your mind clicks. “Maybe there is something you could do.” You whip out your phone and start texting Aizawa, telling him your plan while also explaining it to Shinsou.

You send your text and look up at Shinsou, “well? What do you think?” He nodded his head, “I’m in.”


	50. Kim

“Well? Any updates?” You asked through the phone as you looked around the train, noticing that there were a few people wearing kimonos. You assumed they’re probably attending the festival which is a ride away from where you currently were.

“We just entered and they decided it was best to split into groups to get some food.” Shinsou explained and you can hear Kaminari and Sero loudly talking in the background, making you smile warmly, “sorry I couldn’t go with you.” He sighed and shook his head, “it’s fine. I was actually planning on giving them our tickets anyway.”

“But still, I can’t help but feel bad. Anyway, are you guys sure it’s a good idea to eat before going to any of the rides?” He chuckles, “did you forget what my mission is? I don’t have time to be having fun with something this serious. You could be in danger if I screw up. You and Aizawa- _sensei_ both.”

“It’s fine~! don’t worry too much about it. Plus, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Enjoy yourself a little bit.” You say and try to cheer your friend up who just lets out a breath, not moved by your words at all. “If I were alone that wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m stuck with these two.”

The moment he finishes his sentence, you can hear Kaminari’s excitement in the background as he gushes about a rollercoaster followed by screams that were mixed with excitement and thrill. “You can handle a night. Don’t forget they’re important too.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you loud and clear.”

“Is that (Y/N)? Can I say hi?” Kaminari’s voice gets louder as he leans over to the phone Shinsou was holding up his ear. “She can hear you no problem.” He says before turning it on speaker mode, “HI (Y/N)! THANK YOU FOR THE TICKETS!” He thanks you with a wide smile.

“We’re sorry about that by the way. You could’ve handed it to someone you were closer with.” Sero follows, laughing nervously after. You shook your head, “it’s perfectly fine, don’t worry about it. I don’t regret giving you two the tickets so please, enjoy the festival on my behalf.”

They smiled widely, “got it! We’ll buy you something as a thank you gift. Do you want anything?” You hummed, “you don’t really need to give me anything—”

“Sero come on, let’s go gift hunting.” And then before you could even finish, they were gone and even left Shinsou behind. He heaved a breath, “this is going to be a long night.”

You laughed nervously, “don’t stress yourself too much.” You tried to reassure him and he nodded, “I better get going before I lose them and they get kicked out. Text me when you’re done or something happens, okay?” His tone goes soft and you feel your chest getting warm as the tips of your lips quirk up slowly with a nod, “of course.”

You hang up and you were just a few stops away from the location Aizawa sent you. After 10 minutes, you assumed, you finally arrived at your stop. You walk towards the door and left the train, looking down at your device as you walked over to the map plastered on the wall.

“It’s just five bus stops away…” you heaved a breath, “this is going to be a longer trip than I thought.” You turned your phone off and placed it in your pocket but just when you were about to walk up the steps, you heard a familiar voice.

“Are you sure it’s okay to attend? What if something terrible happens like a raid? Then what do we do?” You quickly turn the other direction and tried eavesdropping from afar, keeping your head low but also trying not to look suspicious as you pretended to buy something in the vending machine.

Midnight scoffs at one of her sidekicks, “you’re worrying too much! We don’t have anything other than information which is at a safe location and _that girl_ , so we have nothing to worry about.” She said confidently before pointing at him, “for the entire night, I don’t want you bringing up anything related to that, got it?”

“If you do, I’ll step on your guts until you start bleeding.” She threatens lightly with a bright smile. “G-Got it…”

“Let’s have a fun night since this really does only happen every 15 years. One night is not going to hurt.”

He sighs, “I can’t help but be jealous at how calm and collected you are about this.” Then Midnight with her two other sidekicks start following behind her into the train.

_“This was definitely the right place.”_

Once the train they were on finally leaves, you heaved a relieved breath before heading up the steps and walking towards the nearest bus stop which was conveniently a block away from the station. _“I hope this works.”_

Shinsou finally manages to catch up to them, “quit running on your own. Two of you.” He specified clearly but the two were so used to him acting that way they simply shrugged it off before shoving something at his face.

“What do you think about this?” He pushes it away, “I can’t see what you’re trying to show me if you shove it at my face.” He looks down at the item in Kaminari’s hands, “what is this for?” He lifts a brow, confused since they still had to meet the others and his group hasn’t even bought a single food.

“It’s for (Y/N), obviously.” They smiled lightly. He doesn’t respond and just looks at the charm bracelet they were trying to decide on. “Don’t tell her this but… man, I might sound insensitive since I don’t know her as much as you do, but she’s acting kind of weird, isn’t she?”

His lack of response causes Kaminari to panic a little bit, “no wait let me rephrase that—” Sero steps in before his friend could say anything else, “what he’s trying to say is, it just seems that she’s been very occupied. Though she said it’s perfectly fine that we got to go instead of her, we can’t help but feel bad, y’know.”

Shinsou nods his head slowly, a word not leaving his lips. “There have been times whenever we’re talking in the common room together, I could see her zoning out and she would have this sad look in her eyes.” Kaminari adds.

“It’s none of our business, but we just assumed that it was because she hasn’t moved on from her mission since… she was told that she can’t be involved anymore.” It gets silent, making Sero and Kaminari worry if they’ve said too much that maybe offended Shinsou.

“She’ll love it.” He finally says, pointing at the one Sero was holding. The two were caught off guard, eyes wide. “The other one isn’t bad either, but I’m sure she’ll like this one a lot more.” Sero and Kaminari exchanged looks before smiling, wrapping their arms around Shinsou’s shoulders, “we knew we could count on you!”

Shinsou didn’t expect them to get close and personal but he was so tired to the point he just let them get away with it. He was too busy thinking to himself after all. He waited at the side and chuckled to himself, _“you have great friends, and I’m sure you know that.”_

_“See, you’re not alone. Everyone’s worried about you, so… get well soon.”_

You’ve been walking for a while now while also keeping an eye on your GPS that Aizawa lent you. You stopped your tracks when you spot something at the corner of the street. Swallowing, you shoved your phone back inside of your pocket, you knew this was the place.

But before you could head in there, you still had to look for Aizawa who said he has been waiting. While looking around the unfamiliar neighborhood, someone calls out your name and a wave of relief washed over you once you recognized that voice.

“Aizawa- _sensei_ ,” you greeted him with a bow. “Is she at the venue yet?” You slowly shook your head, “Toshi hasn’t messaged me yet, but I did bump into her when I arrived at the train station.”

He looks at you with wide eyes which causes you to shake your head quickly, “she didn’t see me though. I just kept my distance and tried listening to as much information as possible.” He slowly nods, “well did you get anything?”

“Um… I don’t know if I should be relieved about this, but she mentioned that she’ll be putting her focus on the event and won’t bother with anything else.”

“Yeah, we’re still not 100% sure if we should rely on that information. Just because she said that doesn’t mean she won’t be able to go back here.” You nodded in agreement, “right.”

“Oh! And both of her sidekicks went with her too so there’s that. Aizawa- _sensei_ , is this really alright? What if that place is packed with guards?” He slowly shook his head and placed his hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring look, “you’re just a visitor, alright? Anyways, put these on.” He hands you a bag.

“There’s a café nearby so get changed in their bathroom. I’m sure Midnight thought of someway to blacklist you just to make sure you don’t ever get in there.” You nodded and walked to the café he was pointing at, changing into a disguise that you hoped would work.

The bag had this tackiest dress you’ve ever seen and an orange wig that went down your stomach. It wasn’t easy trying to comb that thing; God knows where Aizawa got this and why he has it, but for your sanity, you decided not to question it. At least not yet.

Once you were done changing, you put the clothes you were wearing inside the bag and did final touchups to your makeup using the mirror. You took a final look, “you look stupid.” You heaved a breath, “it’ll do.”

You walked out and met up with Aizawa again. “Take this with you.” He hands you an ID with the word “visitor” on it. You take it from him and bowed, “thank you so much, I wouldn’t have gotten this far without your help.”

He folds his arms on his chest, “now don’t get too confident. Your mission is only beginning, thank me later when it’s a success.” You stood up straight and flashed him a bright smile, “yes, sir.”

You hand him the bag and pulled on the ends of the dress, trying to make it look more… presentable. Aizawa hands you an earpiece and a pin that actually had a microphone and camera. “Tell me when something happens.” You give him a nod and once you were set, you headed towards the building and entered through the back by yourself.

Right away you were immediately asked by security who you were but once they saw your ID they allowed you access to enter, not even asking for your name or where you’re from. Makes you wonder how many visitors there are and why there are even visitors.

“Can you hear me?” Aizawa says through the earpiece. You nodded, “loud and clear.”

“Alright. Now, you’ve probably memorized the sketch I made of that place, correct?”

You hummed and tried to be more casual. As Aizawa has said, there weren’t many guards. Maybe they just needed a place to put Kim for the time being just in case she leaked any important information they’ve been trying to hide from the media.

“Excuse me, miss?” A voice from behind you catches you off guard. You stopped and cursed under your breath. “Stay calm and act normal. You’re just a visitor, got it? Remember the script.”

You took a deep breath and finally gathered up the courage to face the woman who looked at you with furrowed brows. “Hi, yes. I’m Seho Neol, an exchange student from Korea who came here on behalf of my professor, Bum Kang.” You held out a hand for her to take and she shakes it lightly.

“Ah yes, you’ll be interviewing one of our patients here, correct?”

_“Patients…”_

“Indeed. I was trying to look for help but unfortunately couldn’t find any so I ended up wandering on my own.” You let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of your neck, smiling sheepishly. She shook her head, “nonsense, it’s perfectly fine.”

“I noticed that it’s pretty empty today. I’m sorry I couldn’t find a different time to schedule my visit.” She gave you a soft smile, “we don’t mind. Your scheduled flight is in a few hours, correct?” You nodded, “but I need to report to my professor right away and tell him about my discovery.”

While this conversation continued, more questions filled up your mind. Who exactly is this professor and is he even real? One thing is for sure, you have loads of questions to ask Aizawa after this.

“Let’s not waste your time, shall we?” She starts walking down the hall you were already walking at, following closely behind her. “Your Japanese is very good by the way.” She compliments you. You nodded, “thank you! I tried my best learning.”

“Well, you’re doing a spectacular job.” She stops and turns towards the glass window. You did the same and your eyes immediately widened the moment you saw _her_. “This is it. That’s her right there.”

The woman hands you a clipboard and you looked down at it, seeing that it’s information about Kim from her height to her literal weaknesses in terms of her Quirk. “If you don’t mind me asking, I looked through the files you sent me and noticed that she’s a student as well.”

She nods, “I’m sure your professor has informed you about our experiment.” Your lips parted, trying to remain calm about the situation, trying to stay in character to avoid suspicion. “He did and I can’t help but ask more questions.”

“Like how did this experiment begin?” She rubs her chin to think, “well actually if I remember correctly Midnight brought this girl in here without an explanation and said that she’ll be staying here for the next few months until we resolve this issue.”

“Does her… family know about this? I’m curious as to how they reacted when they heard about the news.”

She shakes her head lightly, “I don’t know much details about that miss, I’m sorry. My knowledge is only limited to the patient and anything further than that is off-limits even to the staff here.”

“(Y/N), drop it for now and focus on the main reason why you’re there.” Aizawa speaks up, shaking you back to reality before you could ask more questions. “May I speak to the patient now?”

She nods, “of course, right this way.”

The woman opens the door and lets you in the room with just a table and two chairs across each other. Kim doesn’t bother to turn her head to face you, her head low, body still. You turned around and saw that the door was closed and you were left alone with her.

Slowly, you approached the table and sat across her. Kim’s hair was covering half of her face and you could see how exhausted she looked. You cleared your throat, “hello… Kim...” you tried to sound composed but it turned out to be a whisper.

“What are you going to talk to me this time? Are you going to be like the 20 other visitors asking me the same questions? I’ve lost count.” Her voice was hoarse and there wasn’t an ounce of strength. You weren’t used to seeing this Kim. The Kim you were used to seeing was loud, obnoxious, and just full of… life.

“I need you to tell me what they’ve been putting on you.” You dove right in. She inhales a breath and sighs, “shouldn’t you already know this? Why are you asking me?” You tried to look at your peripheral vision and noticed that the lady from earlier was no longer there.

“Kim, I really need you to tell me what has been happening to you these past few months.”

She finally looks up at you, her eyes widening, “that voice…” you gave her a look of horror, panicking internally and trying to think of something to say but no words were forming in your mouth. “You… you did this to me and you have the audacity to show your face to me? After what **you’ve** done?”

“Kim, I can explain everything if you just let me—”

She slammed her fists on the metal table, “and what makes you think I’ll let you explain? What is there other than you betraying me just so you could continue being the Pro Hero you’ve always dreamed to be? You’re just like them. All of you.” Kim’s eyes were filled with rage and you can’t blame her.

You inhaled a sharp breath, “to tell you the truth I didn’t think I had the right to visit you. But please, can you just listen to me?” She laughed loudly, “look at you right now. It’s disgusting. I’ve changed for the better, apologized multiple times, and this is how…”

She laughs again, “this is all part of your revenge, isn’t it? This was never about _forgiving_ me. You planned this whole thing just so I could get a taste of my own fucking medicine.” You looked down at her fists and noticed how bloody her hands were, but they weren’t fresh blood. It was all dried.

Her fingers were filled with scars as her fists shake, clenching them tighter and tighter.

Kim puts her head on her hands, “I’m such a fucking idiot. And here I was begging, hoping that this wasn’t going to be another visitor. Turns out, I would rather see a complete stranger and have them ask me the same set of questions rather than seeing you.”

“Kim, I get how you’re feeling, but I need you to listen to me or tell me—”

“You’re absolutely disgusting. What? Are the needles, experiments, and test runs not enough for your revenge? If killing me is the cherry on top for your revenge arc, then please, run me over with a truck right now. I’d rather be **dead**.”

You wipe away the tears from your eyes that you were late to notice. “Don’t say that… please…” she chuckles, “the victim card, a classic. I remember doing that back in middle school, I’m sure you remember it as well.”

Before you could think, you landed a slap on her cheek, causing her to shut up and turn her head away from you due to the impact. “Shut it and listen to me.”

“I did it because if I didn’t, there would be no way the two of us could escape. I promise you that—”

“Slapping me now, eh? It’s alright.” Kim looks you in the eyes again and takes a deep breath.

“GUARDS SHE JUST ASSAULTED ME!” She screamed her lungs out. Your eyes quickly widened as she continued to yell. “Kim, please just let me talk and tell you what I’m planning on doing—”

“SHE JUST SLAPPED ME!! SOMEONE HELP AND GET ME OUT OF HERE.” She ignores your words, looking at the door, waiting for someone to burst in. “I’ll get you out of here. Even if you hate me now, I’ll still get you out of here—”

On cue, the doors open and two guards enter. “Don’t you fucking dare lose hope. You will get out of here. I’ll save you even if I’m on my last breath so wait for me, **got it**?” You took one good look at her before you were finally sent out and Kim was apprehended by the other. The woman from earlier quickly rushes towards you, “Miss, are you okay? What happened in there?”

You shook your head and gave her a warm smile, “I’m fine, I should be the one apologizing actually. She started saying some things and it kind of put me in an unsettling position. My apologies, I shouldn’t have acted the way I did.”

Before she could reply, you turned your back at her, “I need to get going. I accidentally overstayed. My professor must be buzzing my phone with missed calls.” You laughed, “thank you and I’m sorry for the way I behaved.” You start walking away, biting your quivering lip.

Once you were out, tears start bursting out of your eyes, a fountain flowing down your cheeks as you felt your knees getting weaker, making it hard for you to walk.

You took one step and your legs completely gave up on you. Just when you were waiting to land on the concrete, you felt arms enveloping you, pulling you tightly towards them as your head rests on their chest.

Slowly, you looked up. Your eyes were filled with tears, making it hard for you to see clearly as you sniffled.

“It’s fine, I’m here now…” Shinsou’s voice comforts you like a warm blanket. The moment those words left his lips, you start sobbing loudly, hugging him back as you started soaking his dark purple kimono. His hand pets the back of your head, hushing you, “let it all out…”

This all happened while Aizawa was watching you both from the distance.

* * *

The moment you entered the place, Aizawa received a text from Shinsou. He takes his phone out and checks the message.

**Shinsou**  
_please keep an eye on her and protect her for me._

Looking up, he thinks for a while. He wasn’t planning on responding but his fingers had a different plan of their own.

**Aizawa- _sensei_ sent you a location.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the amount of times i had to reupload this one, i'm very sorry : (( i'll try better next time, i promise this will never happen again


	51. Stuck with You

He puts his jacket over your shoulders in an attempt to stop you from shaking due to the cold breeze. You nod him a thank you before lowering your head as he sat down beside you. Aizawa was on the phone trying to get a cab home since the last thing you guys want is bumping into Midnight on your way back to U.A.

You were still in the disguise Aizawa lent you for your mission except for your wig which was resting on your lap. “I hope this helps you.” He offers you a drink which he bought at the café nearby and you lean towards the straw and took a sip, “thanks.”

You look at him with furrowed brows, “how did you… get here? I thought you were supposed to be watching out for Midnight and have Sero and Kaminari distract her if something happened?” Shinsou takes out his phone with his free hand and shows you an article.

**“Festival Potentially Cancelled Due to Pro Hero Midnight’s Sudden ‘Flash’ On Stage?”**

You couldn’t help but let out a short laugh reading the article which caused Shinsou to smile lightly, “I left before that happened but…” you shrugged, “well whatever your reason was, I’m glad you came.”

“Did you just ditch Sero and Kaminari then?” You asked him with raised brows to which he shook his head, “I told them that something came up and I had to go early. They were fine with it, but Monoma on the other hand…” you hissed and turned the other way, “we owe him an apology…”

“(Y/N), Shinsou, the cab will be here in any minute so start packing up.” You two nodded at your teacher, getting up at the same time as you let the wig hang on your arm while Shinsou carried your bag that contained your clothes. While waiting you looked at him from head to toe, humming.

He quirks up a brow, “what?” You giggled and shook your head, “just admiring how you look and I have to say the color matches you.” Shinsou looks down, completely forgetting that he was still in a kimono, “I guess you’re right. Kendo picked it out for me.”

You gasped, “Monoma ended up inviting Kendo?” He nodded, “I was surprised too but those two are close. Their pair is quite… unique, you could say.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, “seems familiar, doesn’t it?”

Shinsou smiles warmly at your remark, “yeah, you’re right.” Once the car arrives you and Shinsou sat in the backseat while Aizawa took the passenger’s seat. The first minute in the car had this tense atmosphere. The cab driver and Aizawa were talking about something while you two were silent at the back.

Shinsou looks at you from the side and starts thinking to himself. He didn’t really ask you what happened in there for you to react that way, but he knew it had to be something bad that caused your legs to give up on you. He checked and it doesn’t seem like they touched or harmed you in any way.

He wanted to ask you a lot of questions but decided to leave it for now and give you time for yourself. He was worried though, afraid that you were just pretending to be okay right now. He has been familiar with that behavior of yours and only chooses to bring it up when the time is appropriate.

“Someone’s worried.” You spoke out, smiling at him. He looks at you and sighs, “can you blame me?” You slowly shook your head and exhaled a breath, “if I had to be honest, I’d still be crying right now if it weren’t for you.”

“I don’t know how else to say it. I’m still hurt about what happened, but… I don’t know. When you came it was like all of my problems were gone.” You laughed and turned to face him, “is it okay to say that?”

He weakly shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know either. One thing’s for sure you’re exhausted and you need to sleep. We’ll talk about what happened once you’re okay.” He says gesturing to your puffy red eyes. You slowly nodded, “yeah…”

Shinsou sits up straight and pats on his shoulder. You look at him with raised brows before slowly settling in on his shoulder, getting comfortable right away. While you closed your eyes and tried getting as much sleep as you could in the car ride back to U.A., he took out his phone, about to use it to distract himself only to not turn it on.

He heaves a breath and rests his head on yours, folding his arms in front of him.

_“All of my problems were gone…”_ he repeated what you said to him earlier.

Roughly 2 minutes have passed and he already hears you silently snoring on his shoulder. This gave Shinsou more time to think to himself. In reality, he was actually planning on asking you an important question at the festival but of course, something came up and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Not like he was bummed out about it though. He was more glad to be spending his time with you even if it was for just a few minutes. Shinsou has known this for years, but you do bring out his good side. Whenever he’s with you he has no trouble being himself.

Unlike the environment, he’s used to it being filled with judgment, fear, and even disgust; you made him realize that… maybe not everyone is so bad after all. Not only that but because of your influence, your classmates managed to get comfortable around him as well without a problem.

Due to fear of losing you or you looking at him differently, he always avoided those feelings he felt inside of him. Even if you don’t feel the same way about him, Shinsou still wants to be there for you no matter what even if it’s just as friends. That also explains why he refuses to use his Quirk on you.

Compared to your classmates, Shinsou is known to be a prankster due to him brainwashing some of his classmates from time to time. He doesn’t use it every single day though, he just uses it whenever he feels like it or wants to mess with someone.

If you had to estimate, he has brainwashed 80% of your classmates at least once. It was mostly Bakugou’s group of friends though since they bother him the most with their shenanigans. He does it light-heartedly and not everyone seems to take offense to it since the main reason why he brainwashed some of your classmates is due to their curiosity and them wondering how it feels like.

For you, though? Shinsou would always shut down your request. It doesn’t matter how much you beg or ask, his answer will always be no. Simply because he doesn’t want to harm you in any way. 

Yeah, your classmates have mentioned that it was perfectly fine and that you won't feel anything other than a slight haze; he still looks down on the idea. At this point, you've fully given up and decided to let him be.

Shinsou slowly looked down and noticed that the back of your hand was resting on his lap. It must have fallen there when the car was moving. Without realizing, his hand starts reaching for it and starts stroking your delicate fingers, smiling softly at them and how tiny they were compared to his.

While getting distracted, Aizawa suddenly calls for him. He wakes up from his thoughts and looks up with raised brows. “We’re almost there, don’t worry about (Y/N), I’ll carry her to her room instead. Can I trust you with the bag?”

Shinsou nodded his head, but before he could try to reposition himself without waking you up, Aizawa adds another request. “Actually, why don’t you carry her and the bag? That’ll be your training for today since we skipped a day.”

He looks at his mentor with furrowed brows, not knowing if his words had any meaning behind them. Was he mad, upset, or was there a different thing? All assumptions were gone once Aizawa adds, “you are her best friend, correct?”

His eyes quickly widened, feeling his face heat up at his mentor's sudden question. Clearing his throat in an attempt to keep his composure, he looked the other way, “yeah but… why are you suddenly bringing that up?”

He hummed, “you’ll thank me when you’re older.” Shinsou's eyes widened even more than they already were, not knowing what to say, completely flustered. 

The car stops in front of the gates of U.A., making him turn around to face the boy, “go on now, don’t waste time. We don’t have all day; after all, this is your training for today.”

With a sigh, Shinsou attempts to open the door while also keeping your head on his shoulder while also putting the bag on, making sure he doesn't interrupt your sleep.

When you let out a faint groan, he completely froze. Aizawa saw an opportunity and took it quickly. “If you wake her up, I’m deducting points from your homeroom.” The indigo haired male took a deep breath, trying to remain calm and not react loudly, just so he doesn't add more fuel to the fire.

He gradually leaned away and substituted his shoulder that you were resting on with his hand, carefully handling you as if you were made out of glass that was to break with just a slight blow. 

Carefully, he slides an arm behind your knees while the other was still resting on your head. Slowly, he starts dragging you out of the vehicle before finally, princess carrying you in his arms. A relieved breath escaped his lips, happy that the mission was successful.

From the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw his teacher grinning at him except when he turned to look at him he was completely unfazed about the situation. 

“Well, don’t just look at me. Go carry her to her room and let her sleep there.” Aizawa commands which caused Shinsou to nod and start walking to the Heights Alliance. The dorms for 3rd Years were the farthest so it'll take a few minutes to get there. 

Shinsou had gotten stronger these past few years ever since he started training with Aizawa so carrying you back wouldn't be a problem. Plus he was too busy admiring your sleeping face to bother noticing your weight. 

Your lips were parted, silent snores leaving them were like music to his ears. He could listen to you sleep all day but now that he was thinking that way, maybe it was best he doesn't say that out loud since it already sounds weird in his mind and could be easily misunderstood as a stalker thing. 

He heaves a breath before looking up at the starry sky. Shinsou starts wondering if the others have made it home yet or if they're still at the festival having a blast. Not like they had curfew today. After all, it was a weekend and there are Pro Heroes at the festival if they were worried about the students' safety.

Shinsou looks at you again, your face resting on his chest. “Noooo… don’t go yet I’m still… hungry…” you mumbled in your sleep. He understood what you said and laughs, “why am I even surprised.”

He was shocked to see that you both were already outside of the Height Alliance. Usually, when he's walking alone, the walk is longer. Maybe it was because he was so easily distracted by you.

Then he realizes a mistake. He looks at the doorknob with squinted eyes, “fuck.” He cursed. His hands were occupied and the only way to open it is if he tries to twist it while also carrying you at the same time.

With little hope but a lot of determination, it only takes him 5 tries before finally succeeding. There was one try where you almost bumped your head on the door, but Shinsou quickly leaned back causing your head to land softly on his chest. 

He uses his foot to open the door, finally entering the building. To his surprise, he wasn't the only one awake. I mean, it was still 11 PM so it wasn't a big surprise. Everyone in the class had a fucked up sleep schedule after all, but no one can compete with Shinsou himself.

“Shinsou? And… (Y/N)?” Momo looks at him with raised brows before her eyes lowered to your sleeping form resting on his arms. Shinsou sighs, gesturing the door, “could you perhaps… close that for me? Kind of got my hands full.”

Momo nodded her head without hesitation, getting up from her seat to close the door behind him. “Thanks.” He simply said but Momo was too busy looking at your unconscious self, 

“She’s not… hurt, is she? If I’m not mistaken she had other plans and you went to the festival with Sero and Kaminari who haven’t returned yet.” He exhales an exhausted breath, nodding, “it’s a long story believe me, but yeah she’s good. I just had to pick her up myself and she happened to fall asleep on the ride back here.”

Momo sighs in relief, “thank heavens. Oh, you should probably tuck her in, huh. Sorry for getting in the way.” He shook his head, “it’s completely fine, sorry for—” he looks over at the table she was using and saw a notebook and a book. She was studying for a test that wasn’t happening until next Wednesday. “Sorry for disturbing your studies. Please continue.”

And just like that Shinsou starts heading towards the elevator and decided to use that instead of the stairs. He waits for the metal room to open its doors to the designated floor.

Once it opened, he walks out and makes his way to your room first. Then that was when he realized something. “Fucking hell.” 

Your room was locked and there was no way he was going to attempt and look for them in your clothes. He didn't like the idea of snooping in the pockets of your clothes. Sure he enters your room freely without hesitation, but that's a different story. He only does that with your knowledge and it's not like he can wake you up in your sleep just to ask, “I can check the pockets of your clothes to look for your key, right?”

Then again he could ask Momo since she's... female, but that was too much of a hassle going back and forth. 

After a minute of brainstorming, he only came to one conclusion. Turning the opposite direction, he walks over to his room which was just down the hall from yours. Fishing the key to his room out of his kimono's sleeve, he manages to open the door.

Like earlier, he uses his foot to kick the door open gently. Shinsou walks in and puts you down on his bed, tucking you in. A wave of relief washed over him right after. He managed to carry you from the car to his room without you waking up. 

He then heads over to his wardrobe, taking out fresh new clothes he could change in. Due to obvious reasons and the school guidelines, students are not allowed to sleep in the same room together. There had been loads of rumors in the past regarding students breaking that rule and it has only gotten stricter and stricter. 

Shinsou decided it was best he slept on the couch for tonight. Would the couch be comfortable? Probably not. But the last thing he wants is some rumor starting about you two sleeping in the same dorm room together mainly because you both were in your final year of high school and you'll be graduating soon.

He didn't really care how uncomfortable the couch was since he doesn't get much sleep anyway, what difference would it make? Shinsou puts your bag by the bed just so you'll be able to see it once you wake up.

Just when he was about to walk out of the room and leave you to sleep, you suddenly woke up. “Shit.” He quickly came walking back as you sat up slowly, rubbing your eyes with the back of your hands, “Toshi?”

“And I was just about to be proud of myself. Sorry for waking you up, you should lie back down.” He says calmly, a sweet smile on his lips. You looked around the room and recognized it right away. 

“Why am I…” he sighs, “I don’t know where your keys are so I’m making you sleep in my room tonight. I’ll be in the common room if you need anything, okay? Just give me a call.”

“But don’t you need to sleep as well? Here, you can sleep—"

Before you could get up from his bed, he cuts you off by pushing you back down lightly into a seated position, holding onto your shoulders as he looked deeply into your eyes, “it’s fine, alright? I don’t want you moving since it’ll only make you less sleepy. I was hoping you’d get some sleep without getting interrupted but I guess this was bound to happen.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

You looked down and nodded slowly, “oh… I’m sorry.” He sighed and shook his head, “you don’t need to apologize. Just sleep here for tonight.”

“You can sleep in my room?”

“It’s already weird enough you’re sleeping in my room. Trust me, I’m okay with sleeping in the common room.”

You decided it was best not to argue with him cause you knew he was just as tired as you were. You nodded your head in defeat, “fine.”

And just like that Shinsou says his goodnight to you, finally leaving you to sleep. He headed back down and noticed that Momo was no longer there. He shrugs it off and walks over to the couch, laying down and heaving a breath.

He grabs one of the cushions and puts it on his head, looking up at the ceiling as his hands rest on his stomach. Slowly, he lifts his hand up to his face and looked at it, thinking about what happened today. He then remembers that he actually got to touch your hand a while ago inside the cab. Realizing this, he placed both hands on his face, feeling it heating up.

“Goddammit… get a hold of yourself.” he told himself. Then again, this is technically the first time he has done something like that. He always feared getting too close to you just in case you were uncomfortable by it. Sure there were times when you and Shinsou would get a little too close, but it always felt platonic... maybe it was just his mind creating things.

_“You do like her, get a hold of yourself. You’ve known this for months and has been happening for years.”_ He takes a deep breath and after what felt like forever, his mind started to settle down. He, unfortunately, could not sleep yet though. His mind remained restless.

* * *

Shinsou slowly opened his eyes to the sound of birds chirping loudly in the morning. Slowly sitting up, he rubbed an eye with the back of his hand, trying to recollect his thoughts from last night. “What time is it?”

He looked around the room and his eyes abruptly stopped at a figure sleeping on another couch. And there you were, sleeping peacefully. He was starstruck, not knowing what to think. That was when he noticed that he was tucked in a blanket and the cushion that was on his head from last night was now a comfortable pillow. 

He looked over at you again and noticed it was you with the cushion this time. He rubbed his forehead followed by a sigh, “how did I not notice this when I was sleeping?” He asked himself. 

“(Y/N)? Oh, and… Shinsou?” A voice enters the room, causing him to turn his head at the source. “Why are you two sleeping here? Did you two get locked out of your rooms or something?” Jirou asked with raised brows.

“Nah, we just decided to have a sleepover here.” 

His eyes widened, turning to look at you. You reassured Jirou even though you had just woken up. He looks at you with confusion and once she finally left you two alone, “mind explaining to me why you’re not sleeping in my room?”

You simply shrugged your shoulders, “I just thought you needed company. Not only that, but I also started to feel lonely and felt bad that you had to sleep on a couch while I got a bed. I thought about it long and hard and came to the conclusion that the ‘sleepover’ explanation was the only solution that didn't involve anything problematic.” You explained.

You gave him a warm smile before sighing, “don’t give me that face. You should be happy that I’m here with you when you should be the one getting the special treatment here and not me.” You placed both hands on the back of your head.

Shinsou lets out a chuckle, shaking his head with a smile, “I’m stuck with you no matter what, huh.”

You sat up and stuck your tongue out, “are you complaining?” His smile widens at your question and you smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally, a chapter that mainly focuses on y/n and toshi's relationship and his pov :,)


	52. My Boyfriend

You were drowning in work, answering your assignments while taking down notes at the same time, eyes constantly moving from notebook to notebook. 

It wasn't like you were cramming; most of the assignments you were getting done weren't even due until Wednesday. 

Shinsou looks at you from the side, eyes judging. You were too busy to notice, causing him to sigh. “Is it really necessary burying yourself in that much work? You’re gonna shut down eventually.”

Your eyes don't leave your desk, “better than me thinking.”

He looks at you with a frown. He received a message from his phone; he turns it on to check. 

While you were distracted yourself with heavy amounts of work, he suddenly grabs the headrest of your chair, spinning you so you'd be facing him.

You froze, pen still in your hand as you blinked a few times. Before you could ask him what he was doing, he showed you a text message from his phone.

**Aizawa- _sensei_**  
_Can't grocery shop today, can you do it for me? In need of apples especially. I'll send you the list, and I've already informed Nezu that you'll be leaving campus for a few hours._

After reading the message, you looked up at him with raised brows, “what does that have to do with me?”

He takes in a deep breath and sighs, “you clearly a new way of distracting yourself because this is too… sad.”

You looked at him in disbelief, “what does that mean? I’m perfectly fine, why would I be distracting myself?” You folded your arms on your chest.

Shinsou tilted his head, furrowing his brows. Leaning back, you sighed in defeat, “fine, you’re right.”

“But won’t he be mad that you’re taking someone with you? Shouldn’t this be a one-man job? I mean... at least that's what he would say.” 

“I already told him that you’re coming with me and he was fine with it, so get changed.” He shoved both hands in his pockets and left your room, letting you change. 

You both rode the bus to the nearest mall. While Shinsou was on his phone playing a cat mobile game, you decided it was time you asked him. 

“I know you invited me to go with you because I needed a different distraction, but… is there another reason?” You asked him, causing him to look away from his device.

He hummed, “wouldn’t you like to know.” You looked at him with wide eyes, not sure if he was taunting you or not. He notices your slightly offended reaction, making him chuckle, “it just seemed like you were avoiding your thoughts about Kim; which isn’t bad, but… you do it a lot to the point it doesn’t seem very healthy.”

“Is it that obvious? I'm sorry for making you worried.”

He shook his head, “don’t apologize. It’s just sad seeing you act this way.” The bus stops and he gets up, “this is our stop.” You nodded and followed behind him. 

Once you left the bus, you were confused as to where you both were. The mall isn't far from there, but it still isn't the mall. “Do you have to get something?” You asked.

“Oh, no. I just came here to fetch some apples for Eri. She prefers this place’s apples than the ones being sold at the mall.”

You couldn't help but laugh, “you really must know her.”

He shrugged, “I have babysat her the most apart from Mirio, Amajiki, and Nejire.” You two walked at the slightly busy marketplace. As expected, it was busy since it was a weekend. 

Shinsou notices that you were struggling in getting past the tough crowd so he grabs your wrist, “sorry about this.” 

You look at him with wide eyes, “about what?”

He doesn't answer and starts dragging you behind him, his grip on you tight but not to the point it hurt. While looking up at him with sparkling and confused eyes, you noticed the tips of his ears turning red. 

“Are you cold?” You asked in a worried tone but he doesn't answer again. You can't blame him this time though since it was getting busier and busier; loud as well. 

Once you two made it to a fruit store, the lady who just said goodbye to one of her customers turned to you both, greeting you with a bright and warm smile. 

Bowing, “welcome to Waterlily’s Sweetness, what are you interested in today?” Before Shinsou could reply her eyes widened when she saw his face. 

“Hitoshi, you’re back! The usual, correct?”

He nodded, “yeah, and do you have any specials today? I wanna show someone how good your fruits are.” 

Her head quickly turns to look at you, beaming even brighter, “ah, I see you brought your girlfriend with you! About time you introduce me to her.” She gently nudged on the flustered boy. 

He choked on air, eyes widening as his face fought off a blush, “she’s not my—"

“You can say all you want, but my eyes are telling me something else.” That's when you and Shinsou took a quick and long pause before both heads slowly moved to his hand that was still holding onto your wrist.

Followed with a sigh, he gently lets go of you but you could've sworn there was a bit of hesitation in his actions, “can you get us the apples, please?”

“Of course, and since you brought someone special with you today the special along with the apples will be free.”

Before Shinsou could say another word, you stopped him with your arm, “we appreciate it, miss. Thank you so much!” 

She smiles at you again, heading to the back to get something. 

Shinsou turns and looks at you, “what do you think you’re doing?” He whispered. You smiled lightly at him, “what? She said it was free and not only that but I don’t think she’s giving up that easily.”

“She kinda reminds me of my grandmother.” 

“Also, you must come here a lot if she remembers you. I mean, this place seems pretty busy.” You added. He gently shrugged his shoulders, “I guess you can say that. I actually worked here for 2 weeks during middle school.”

You looked at him with wide eyes, “really?” Shinsou nodded, “I was just an errand boy though, so it’s not really something to brag about.”

The lady comes back with a small plate of sliced up peaches. “On the house too.” 

Shinsou takes the plate from her with a sigh, “now you’re just overdoing it.” She rolled her eyes at him, “can you blame me? It's been months since I last saw you! Now look at you; you just keep growing.”

“I remember the time when you were by my shoulder.” She shook her head disappointedly, clicking her tongue. “Plus, it’s also a tradition that you feed your significant other a freshly sliced peach here, don’t you remember?”

It takes Shinsou a while to register her words, “yeah, but what would that have to do with—" then it hits him. 

“Nana, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that we’re not—”

“Don’t keep a lady waiting. Look at her.”

You looked at him and smiled lightly, shrugging. Shinsou inhales and exhales, grabbing a peach and gently placing it inside of your mouth. 

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” He asked you with a brow raised, smirk widening on his lips as he chuckled at your nod. 

“Well, what do you think of the special, dearie?” The lady asked you. You gave her a bright smile, eyes shining, “it’s the best peach I’ve ever eaten, miss!”

She couldn't help but giggle at your response, “seems like you’ve got a keeper, Hitoshi.” He just turned the other direction, hiding his face from you both. 

“Shouldn’t I feed him as well?” You asked, pointing at the plate. The lady laughs even louder, “why of course!”

“Shouldn’t you be tending your other customers? They’re waiting for you.” Shinsou changed the topic immediately as his face starts to flush even more. 

She gently lands a slap on his shoulder, “jeez you teens. Back in my day, we used to—” 

“Let me stop you right there.”

“Here, Toshi.” He turned his head to look at you and you slowly led the peach in your hand to his lips. Giving in, he takes it and eats, chewing with squinted eyes while you giggled at him.

“Well, your order is waiting for you at the counter. Why don't you go and get it?” She says to you. You nodded without hesitation, “yes, ma’am. I’ll be right back.” You tell Shinsou before walking away.

Shinsou watches you from the distance with his hands crossed on his chest. She stands next to the boy, “she’s a good person.”

He nodded, “she is.” 

You were conversing with the lady behind the counter and she was surprisingly friendly as well. You two were talking while she placed the fruits inside a box, wrapping it nicely. 

“You better not hurt her or else I’ll kill you.” 

“You’ve known her for just a few minutes; shouldn’t you be saying that to her?” She gently shook her head with a sigh, “well, I don’t need to know someone personally to know that they’re not a bad person.”

“I guess you’re right about that one.” 

Once she was done packing up the fruits, you bowed to the lady before slowly heading back to Shinsou and the lady. 

“You must like her a lot.” She chuckled, patting him on the back, “make sure to treat her right.”

Shinsou was going to say something sarcastic but didn't. Once you two locked eyes, you gave him a warm smile, showing him the box that was in your hands.

“Well, see you again, lovebirds. Come visit again if you can.” 

“We will, thanks,” Shinsou replied before taking the box from you. He starts walking away but you bow to the lady once more, “thank you so much. I’ll definitely come back here, miss.”

She smiled at you and scoffed, “you flatter me too much; please, call me Nana.”

You simply smiled back, “I’m (Y/F/N).”

You finally said your final goodbyes; so you and Shinsou start walking back to the bus stop. 

“She’s really nice.” You commented, looking up at him. He gently shrugged, “she has her moments, but you’re right.” 

You let out a laugh, “we make a very convincing couple, don’t we? I never knew our relationship could have such an advantage.”

“I guess you’re right.” He replied. You hummed and turned to smile at him, “I make a great fake girlfriend, don’t you think?” You giggled. Shinsou hummed, not responding to you verbally.

You noticed that he was frowning a bit; I mean, he always does, but this time it felt a little too different. 

Looking away, you cleared your throat, “sorry, did I overdo it? I probably shouldn't have said that huh.”

He quickly shook his head and gave you an assuring look, “it’s not you, I promise. I was just thinking about something.” 

“Then… what’s wrong? You and Nana were talking when I was getting the box after all—” you let out a loud gasp causing Shinsou to raise his brows.

“She… she didn’t say anything bad about me, did she?” You asked in a panicked tone. 

“Believe me, it’s the opposite. She pretty much admitted that she likes you more than me despite just knowing your name.” You raised your brows, “r-really?”

Then it hits you. “Wait are you jealous because Nana likes me more than you?” 

“We’re gonna miss the bus if you don’t move any faster.” He changes the topic, hurrying his steps. 

You tried matching his pace but before you could reach his side he suddenly grabs hold of your wrist again. “Let’s not miss the bus shall we?”

You looked at him with wide eyes, sighing, “now look who’s showing off.”

“You started this competition and there’s no way I’m letting you win that easily.”

“May the better fake win.” 

* * *

“Here, you can be in charge of the list while I’ll be on the cart.” He hands you his phone. 

You nodded, “you can count on me.” 

You start grabbing the things on the list and putting them in the cart while Shinsou followed behind you. “Have you done this before?”

He raised a brow, “done what?”

“Like… grocery shop for Aizawa- _sensei_?” 

Shinsou nodded, “around 4 times, it’s not a big deal.”

You grabbed two cans of tomato, different brands. Turning to him, you showed him the two cans, “which one do you usually get?”

He looks at them with squinted eyes. “Your right.” You put the one in your left hand back on its original spot and put the one he pointed at in the cart. 

When it was time to get meat, there was a minor inconvenience with the weighing scale; causing people to wait a little longer. 

“You should continue; I’ll stay here and wait.”

You nodded at his words and start walking on your own. Luckily this was the same grocery store you used to go to with your mom, so you didn't really have much difficultly in terms of directions.

You were starting to struggle carrying so many items in your arms, but luckily you could use your Quirk. It was a bit troublesome though since you had to avoid hitting anyone and you also didn't just want to make it float above; attracting the public's attention.

So carefully, you made them float close and behind you. 

While you were walking and mumbling the items on the list, you accidentally bumped into someone. “I’m so sorry—”

Before you could even finish, a loud crashing noise happens behind you as you felt your Quirk deactivate.

Turning around and looking down, all the items that you were using your Quirk on have all fallen to the ground, scattered. “How did that…”

“Guess today’s my lucky day.” You heard someone say in front of you. You quickly looked forward and saw that it was the same man you had accidentally bumped into. 

“Didn’t think I was going to bump into a cutie at the grocery store today.”

You gulped as he started stepping closer towards you, “do I know you?” You asked while taking steps back until you felt your back hit the aisle. 

His figure towers over you, forcing you into a corner, “no, but I’d like you to.” 

You looked around and noticed that nobody was in the aisle you were in; it was just you and the strange man. 

Attempting to use your Quirk to lightly push him off of you and to give you more space, you failed. He releases a deep laugh, “someone seems to be struggling~.” He sang.

“You... you’re the reason why I can’t… your Quirk—”

“You’re smarter than you look. Looks like I hit the jackpot today,” he leans closer towards your ear, forcing you to brace yourself and shut your eyes.

The man lets out a grunt as you heard something hit him. Slowly opening your eyes, you noticed that a cart had hit him from his back, forcing him to turn back.

Still backed up into a corner, you saw a glimpse of someone in front of the man. “What fucking gives man? My girlfriend and I were just talking about something.” 

“Quit the act. That’s not your girlfriend, she’s mine.” Shinsou's voice was bold. And with that, you pushed the man aside and rushed over to Shinsou, hiding behind him. 

“Sorry I’m late.” He apologized, still facing forward. 

He laughed, running his hands through his hair, “I just wanted to talk to her man, nothing too serious. I admire her Quirk, that's all.” He shoved his hands inside his pockets and gave Shinsou a playful smile.

“Well, I’d prefer it if you leave my girlfriend and other girls alone; and while you’re at it, go get a life.” 

The man lets out another laugh, “you really don’t know who you’re messing w—” his pupils completely turn white and his body froze. 

“I said it once and I’ll say it again. Leave my girlfriend and other girls alone, you fucking creep. Don’t you dare look at another female ever again, got it? Now step off and leave.”

And just like that, his body follows Shinsou's commands without a problem. Taking in a deep breath, Shinsou finally turns around to check up on you.

Holding you by your shoulders, he looks at you with worried eyes, “he didn’t… lay a finger on you, did he?”

You gave him a small smile, shaking your head. And just like that his body relaxes and melts like ice cream, head falling onto your shoulder as he heaves out a relieved breath.

“Thank god…” he muttered. 

You gently wrapped your arms around him to pull him into a hug, rubbing his back. In reality, you were quite afraid and were actually about to breakdown into tears until you saw how much this affected Shinsou.

“Why are you the one comforting me? You’re the one that almost got hurt.” He looked up and furrowed his brows at you. 

“I’m fine, Toshi. I mean, I wasn’t but when you came…” you chuckled softly, cupping both of his cheeks and giving him a warm smile, “as usual it seems like all of my worries disappear when you’re around.”

He absorbs your shining orbs and takes in a deep breath, “alright… for the rest of today, I don’t want you leaving my sight, got it?”

You laughed, “what kind of fake girlfriend would I be if I did?”

You and Shinsou start cleaning up the mess in the aisle before any of the other customer or staffs saw. While you were picking some stuff up, you looked over to Shinsou and thought to yourself.

 _“He really called me his girlfriend… sure it might’ve been because he did that to be convincing but I can’t help but...”_ you felt your heart racing and your chest tightening. 

This feeling isn't completely new to you, but it has been quite concerning ever since you first felt it. You thought this was just normal, but as time passed you came to a realization that you don't feel these emotions unless you're with—

“(Y/N)? Did you catch a cold?” Shinsou asked, snapping you out of your thoughts. You quickly shook your head, “oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about something.”

“Well, before I ask what that is you’re thinking about, I would like to apologize.”

You raised your brows at him, “apologize for what exactly? Toshi, you saved my life back there.” He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, “it’s… not that.”

“I invited you to come with me so you could be in a much happier headspace. It didn’t really go according to plan at the end of the day.”

You looked at him in silence and he was looking at the ground, biting his inner cheek. Smiling lightly, you punched his shoulder, causing him to look up at you. 

“If I tell you that you just won the best fake boyfriend award, will that make you feel better?”

He couldn't help but sigh at your ability to turn a situation like this into something funny and pure, “are you giving me pity points? If that’s the case, I’d rather be called a loser than win that way.”

Rolling your eyes, “well I’m not giving you any pity points. You won fair and square, did you not see what you did just now? You were badass.”

“This competition just made me realize a few things.” He says and starts walking, pushing the cart with him. You raised your eyebrows, “and that is?”

He takes a while to respond only for him to chuckle and look the other way, “sorry, only winners can know the answer.”

You looked at him with wide eyes, “what the fuck is that supposed to mean?!” He shuts his eyes and refuses to look at you, “I don’t understand losers, my apologies.”

You folded your arms before you, “now you’re just being mean.” 

_“Yet you like it.”_


	53. The Awaiting Battle

You looked down at the book while Shinsou kept the back of his head rested on your shoulder, leaning against your back. “Alright then. Where dinner comes from, even Mom calls it ‘homemade’?”

Shinsou hummed, thinking with shut eyes. “You don’t know the answer?” He asked. Although you weren't facing him, you can tell he was smiling just by the tone of his voice. 

“The fifth letter is an O…” you mumbled.

He turned his head slightly to the side, his soft hair tickling your neck, “it’s easy. Microwave.”

You groaned, “I knew that one. You should’ve just given me more time to think.” He heaved a breath, “I doubt it. Was buying a crossword puzzle from the mall necessary? I’ve answered most of the questions.”

“Well, I just thought it would be nice.”

Shinsou chuckled, “you’re just saying that because you felt bad for the lady in the store who was just watching you walk around without buying a single thing.”

“Can you blame me? We were practically the only ones in there. It would’ve been rude if we left without getting anything.”

He crossed his arms on his chest and sighs in defeat, “for someone as loud as yourself, you have trouble with these types of things.” 

You took offense to this and leaned forward, causing him to lose his balance. You looked back and gave him a smug look, “you’re not one to talk, Mr. I-Don't-Need-Friends.”

“Clearly, you don’t know the difference. Those two are completely different situations.” 

While you both continued quarreling at the side, some of your classmates turned to check on you both. “They arguing again?” Hagakure asked. 

Sero stretched his elbow and sighed, “nothing new if you ask me.”

Your class was currently in the training room. Some were fighting one on one, and some were just testing out new techniques they had recently discovered. 

“Alright, (Y/N). I’m all rested up now.” Mina runs towards you and Shinsou who were still arguing. You both stopped, looking up at your pink friend. 

“Stealing her from you.” She points at the lavender head who just shrugged, “be my guest. I just won anyway.”

Mina pulls you up and you glared at the male while he gave you a wide smirk. Sighing, you toss the crossword puzzle book at him, “you better not finish the whole book.”

Shinsou salutes you farewell before he opens the book and starts answering. He had just finished practicing with Midoriya who was still resting up as well, talking to Uraraka and Iida. 

You and Mina walk towards a vacant room that no one was using and separated, facing each other at the opposite sides of the room. You both smile at each other before getting into your stances. 

“I’ll get you this time.” Mina grinned. 

The buzzer rings loudly and she quickly starts emitting acid from her hands. Before a single drop could land on you, you used your Quirk to make yourself fly, dodging her attack. 

“You missed, Pinky.” You smiled down at her and she doesn't seem fazed by your threat. This caused you to realize that she had something else on her sleeve. 

With her fast reflexes, she jumped as high as she could, and since you were distracted and busy thinking, she grabbed hold of your ankle and pulled you down. 

She slams you down the ground and just like that, you land on a pool of sticky substance. She lets go of you and you try to escape, but she prevented that by making her acid sticky, restricting you from escaping or even moving.

Still desperate, you continued to struggle while she smiled widely at you. Crouching down to look at you, she smiles at you menacingly, “I win.”

You finally stopped and started taking deep breaths, exhausted from your movements. “I wouldn’t get so cocky if I were you.”

Before she could even react on time, with a flick of a hand, you sent her flying across the room, her back landing against the soundproof wall. Mina lets out a yelp before landing on the ground, face first.

You smiled, “it’s a tie.”

“No fair, your Quirk is way too powerful!” She whined while you two were walking back. “Your reflexes are getting better too. You somehow managed to react to my attack before I sent you flying.”

She pouts, “doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t beat you.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself Mina, it’s almost impossible to defeat (Y/N)’s powerful Quirk.” Uraraka joins in the conversation, overhearing it. 

“Ochako is right, you know. Even Bakugou was struggling.” Tsuyu commented, pointing at the blond who overheard the conversation as well. 

You laughed nervously, “you guys are exaggerating. My Quirk isn’t that powerful. If anything, I have the weakest endurance out of everyone here.”

The angry blond points at you, “I still won that match, don’t you forget that. Next time I'll finish your ass the moment the match starts.” He barked.

“You know that’s impossible. (Y/N) doesn’t need to be near you to attack.” Kirishima joins shortly after. He clicked his tongue, “who said I can’t attack from afar?”

They start talking about your Quirk while you were just in the middle of everyone, confused and scared. Someone gently poked your shoulder, making you turn to face them.

Shinsou hands you back your crossword puzzle book. You take it from him and flip through the pages, noticing that it was almost half-way done. 

Looking up at him with furrowed brows, “I told you not to finish it.” He shrugged, “well, I didn’t. As you can see, there are still some pages left.”

“You did like 10 pages max. How long was our fight?” He hummed and checked the clock on the wall, “around… 5-10 minutes ago.”

“AND YOU FINISHED THAT MUCH?”

He hands you your pen back, “(Y/N), you don’t need to be a genius to answer that. If you look at the back of the book you can see that it’s for ages 8-12.” He says. 

If he said that to anyone, they would've thought that he was insulting him, but that's just how words leave Shinsou's lips; everything sounds like a sarcastic remark that makes you double guess his real intentions. 

“Do you want this book? I can give it to you.” You offered.

Shinsou looks away and hums before shaking his head, “no thanks, I prefer watching you struggle.” 

Suddenly there was a pause on the noise in the background, causing you and Shinsou to snap out of your world together. 

“You’re right… I’ve never seen Shinsou and (Y/N) fight before.”

You looked at them with raised brows, “what are you guys talking about?”

Mina heaved a loud breath, resting her hands on the back of her head as she leaned back slightly, “you guys are hoping for nothing. Shinsou hasn’t even used his Quirk on her.”

And just like that, all eyes were on you. Everyone gave you a look of disbelief. Shinsou shrugged with no problem, “and what about it?”

“Don’t you do that to tease or make fun of people sometimes?” Kaminari asked, directly pointing at himself.

Shinsou nods as if this was just a normal conversation, “yeah, and?”

“Well, we just thought that you’ve done that to (Y/N) at least once,” Momo said. “Have I really brainwashed everyone here?”

“If I’m correct, you have, Shinsou. At least once or twice.” Midoriya replied.

It takes a while for him to reply, looking down at his shoes to think. He looks up and gives everyone a blank expression, “I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

“Maybe he doesn’t do it to people he respects or is close to?” Kirishima suggested. “But hasn’t he brainwashed Aizawa- _sensei_ at one point? I mean, for their training, of course.” Sato added.

They all looked at him, waiting for a confirmation. Shinsou nods again, “yeah I have.”

“(Y/N) have you really not been brainwashed by Shinsou?”

You looked at them with confused eyes, “yeah, why?” They all start thinking, making you even more worried. You didn’t know how the conversation turned out this way, but one thing’s for sure, they’re not going to leave this topic alone.

“Don’t you ever want to know what it feels like?” Tsuyu asked. You hesitantly nodded, “I mean, yeah, since we were in our First Year, but Toshi just refused no matter how many times I asked.”

Bakugou suddenly bursts out a laugh, “A FUCKING SIMP!”

“Don’t call me a simp,” Shinsou replied angrily, folding his arms. 

“Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do if I—”

 _“That.”_

Everyone attempted to hold back their laughter but failed, laughing at the frozen blond. 

“Well, have you two considered battling?” Todoroki surprisingly speaks up, causing you and Shinsou to exchange glances. Everyone's laughs start to die down slowly, waiting for you two to respond.

“We have in the past, but I guess we just forgot about it.” You rubbed your chin to think. 

“As much as I’d like for them to battle it out, (Y/N) is exhausted and we wouldn't want her to faint. Not only that but our time here is running out.” Iida joined in, chopping the air with his hand.

And as if he just brainwashed everyone, they followed his words and started cleaning up. “Um… Shinsou,”

He turned around and looked at Kirishima with raised brows. The redhead points at his still frozen blond friend that Shinsou had completely forgotten about.

“Oh, right. Do the chicken dance for the next 2 minutes and you’re free to go.” He starts walking away, smiling menacingly as Kaminari and Sero start laughing loudly at Bakugou who followed Shinsou's command without hesitation. 

You handed Shinsou his water bottle, “don’t you think that’s a bit much? Class B will be here any minute.”

Shinsou takes it from you and takes a sip from it. He wipes the wetness off of his lips using his sleeve, chuckling, “relax, I’m sure they’ll enjoy the show.”

“He’s not a bad dancer, won’t you say?” 

You heaved a breath, “your levelness of petty when it comes to your rivalry with Bakugou never stops to amaze me.” He smiles, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

You start walking away and Shinsou follows. Feeling a bit guilty because of your words, he decides to set the man free from his Quirk. Not a second after that decision, a loud yell was erupting out of the training room. 

**“I’LL KILL HIS ASS!”**

* * *

You looked up at the yellow sky while Shinsou picked out a drink from the vending machine. “If I didn’t know any better, you’re thinking about what they said earlier, aren’t you?”

He opens his can of cold brew and takes a sip. You sighed, “can you blame me? I mean, I remember us talking last year about not being able to fight during the joint training.”

Shinsou pulls the drink away from his lips, “that was two years ago and you’re right.” You let out a noise, “t-two years ago?” He nodded. 

“I mean, is there really anything stopping us from fighting?”

He slowly shook his head, “I feel the same way. I guess we were just too busy trying to improve ourselves that we forgot our own promise.” He said, taking another sip. 

“I know we’re friends and all, but you wouldn’t dare to hold back on me, would you?”

He chuckled and smiled at your question, “I didn’t fight my way to the hero course just to hold back; you know that more than anyone.”

You hummed and smiled back, “I guess you’re right. Alright then, so that means you’d use your Quirk on me, correct?”

Shinsou paused, taking a while to respond. You look at him in anticipation, waiting for a response. Shinsou still has yet to respond and was very hesitant with his answer.

“It depends.”

You groaned loudly, “but you just said you wouldn’t hold back on me.”

He nodded, “and I’m not breaking that promise. Who said I needed my Quirk to be powerful?”

You looked at him with tired eyes, “Toshi, you have a powerful Quirk, it would be a shame if you didn’t use it.”

He takes in a deep breath, “I want to improve my physical abilities too. I already know my Quirk’s full potential, but let's face it, it’s useless if the opponent knows about it. Like yourself, for example, you know about it and so you’ll do your best to dodge my tricks.”

You blinked at him a few times, “so… what you’re trying to tell me is, you’ll only brainwash me if I—”

He heaved a breath, “cut that crap. If you fall for my Quirk on purpose just because you’re curious, that’s the same category as me not using my brainwashing on you during the fight.”

You frowned, “I just want to know why you refuse to use it on me so much.” He noticed the sad expression on your face, making him rub the back of his neck.

Shinsou turned away and threw the empty can in a bin, shoving his hands deep inside his pockets. “I just don’t want to hurt you.” He finally lets out. 

“But you won’t. The others said it themselves that you brainwashing them doesn’t hurt at all, they just feel heavy and a bit dizzy. I can take that much.”

“It’s not that I don’t think you can, I just… don’t want you experiencing it. I don’t want to associate you with my villainous Quirk.”

“Stop calling it villainous, alright? If you haven’t done it in a way that could hurt someone, your Quirk is everything but villainous. It’s wonderful, Toshi. I’m sure you can find a way to use it differently.”

He raised a brow, “like what exactly?”

You hummed and started to look around. A minute passed and you failed to give him a response. He heaves a breath, “see, I told you it’s—”

“You can use it to calm someone down.”

“Why would I need to use it like that?”

You slowly shrugged, folding your arms, “like, if someone was having a breakdown. You try to calm them down, but they’re too shaken up to pay attention; they’re breathless, shaking, rambling… just someone having a bad time.”

You take a deep breath, “maybe the heaviness or the dizziness can distract them from the pain they’re feeling, you know.”

It goes silent between you both. Shinsou doesn't know what to say and just looks at you worryingly. You smiled warmly at him and tilted your head, “I’m sure someone will appreciate that.”

He was caught off guard at the beautiful sight. Although the sun was setting right behind you, your smile was much brighter than it.

Shinsou sighed, “if you’re giving me permission to use my Quirk on you during our battle, then I’m giving you full permission to fly me across the room and knock me out, got it?”

You were caught off guard, giving him a concerned look. “A-Are you okay? I-I mean, why did you have to word it that w-way?” You stuttered, completely shaken up by his request. 

He smiled softly, “you’re powerful enough to do that, that’s why. And as we both promised each other, no one will be holding back.”

Shinsou turned his body so now he was facing you. Holding up his pinky, he looks at you. “If you go all soft and easy on me, I’ll just take the win.”

Sighing, you turned to face him as well. Wrapping your pinky with his, you smiled, “I won’t let that happen.”


	54. Jealousy

“Ask her out.”

Shinsou closed his shoe locker a little too loudly, surprised at the pink girl's words. He looked around and noticed a few people looking at him with worried eyes.

“Mina, don’t just say shit like that out loud.” He whispered angrily.

She folded her arms and leaned against the lockers with a sigh, “did you not hear what I just said? Do I have to repeat my words for you, Shinsou?”

He picked his bag up from the ground and shook his head, “no, I heard you loud and clear, but why are you suddenly asking me that?”

Mina heaved another breath, “you boys are so dense.” She turns and faces the much taller male, pointing at him, “I’m ordering you to ask (Y/N) out!”

More people start looking in their direction, causing Shinsou to panic a bit. “Okay, okay, just tone it down—” 

“YOU AGREED THAT FAST?! I SERIOUSLY HAD A WHOLE—” 

Using his Quirk, he brainwashes her and stops her from talking. “Follow me,” he ordered and started walking towards an empty hallway while she followed behind him. 

“Are you trying to let the whole school know?”

He releases her from his Quirk; she starts taking in deep breaths like she was holding in her breath the whole time. 

“And just to be clear, I didn’t say yes to your request. I need you to explain to me what you’re yapping about and where it’s coming from.”

Just when she was about to explain, he cuts her off, “and explain it to be slowly and quietly, alright?” 

Mina nods, “I overheard Aizawa- _sensei_ talking to one of the teachers and he mentioned something about a prom—” 

The moment the p-word left her lips, Shinsou gave Mina a slightly disgusted look. She looks at him, offended, “don’t look at me like I’m some wet sock you just stepped on; I’m serious here!”

“Didn’t think U.A. held proms. Nonetheless, I don’t plan on going.”

Her eyes widened, “what do you mean you’re not going? You have to, and you have to take (Y/N) with you!” She continued. Shinsou wasn't annoyed by your friend's determination, he was just confused. 

He hummed, not responding. 

“Don’t you have feelings for (Y/N)? C’mon, just ask her out and make a move! You guys are killing me here. Unless your feelings for her were just nothing.”

He sighed, “my feelings for her are already a given, but I just don’t like the idea of prom. I could be doing something more productive than watching people dance and ogling each other all-night.” 

He folded his arms before him and shrugged, “it’s just not my type of social event.” She rolled her eyes at him, “you mean every social event.”

“Alright, but what if (Y/N) wants to go?”

“Then I won’t stop her. If she wants to go, then she should. I’m in no position to be ordering her around, it is her life, not mine.” 

Mina sighs, “aren’t you dying to tell her how you feel though? You've liked her since we were in our First Year, just tell her how you feel already.” 

Shinsou lowered his head lightly, “I don’t plan on telling her about my feelings.”

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, “YOU’RE KIDDING—” Shinsou quickly covered her mouth and took a deep breath, “what did I tell you about using your inside voice?”

Mina pushes his hand off, “you’re joking, right? Why not?”

He shoved his hands inside his pockets, “because we’re best friends. The last thing I want is us separating just because of my feelings for her. If the chances of her no longer acknowledging me are on the line, I'd rather keep my mouth shut.”

Mina looked at him in disbelief, blinking a few times to check if this was really real and not some kind of dream. At this point, she was ready to just tell Shinsou how **you** feel and yell at him for being blind, but she held herself back.

Even though Shinsou himself has admitted to having feelings for you, you still haven't said a word to Mina or any of your friends. Mina was confident that you felt the same way as him, but she also didn't want to pressure you.

“Where is (Y/N) anyway? You just told me that she won’t be coming with us today.”

Mina nodded, “yeah, she has to practice something with Bakugou apparently. It’s the one for Modern Literature.”

“The skit thing? So, she’s in the same group as him.” He hummed. Mina looks at him before a devilish smile widens on the tips of her lips.

She faced her back at him, placing her hands behind her back, humming, “from what I heard, the genre assigned to them was romance and that they ended up settling with (Y/N) and Bakugou being the leads since YaoMomo wrote the script.”

She says in a certain tone and swayed left and right, doing a little dance to taunt Shinsou, “and since Momo takes her grades seriously, I heard they’ll be going all out on this one. Of course, Bakugou takes his grades seriously as well, so you can only imagine how theirs will turn out.”

Shinsou doesn't respond, making it clear to Mina that her trick is working. 

“And you know how (Y/N) is when it’s something related to school. Two leads that want to excel in their academics.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head, “I can smell the 100 already.”

“It is for her grades. I can’t blame her for going all out.” He replied.

Mina turns to look at him and gives him a sad look, “oh, but Shinsou, have you ever carried (Y/N)? Have you ever held her in your arms?”

He sighed, “Mina, I know what you’re doing. It won’t work.”

“But Hitoshi, think about how close they’re getting in certain scenes. So close they’re almost kissi—” 

“Alright, where are they?”

Mina gave him a wide smile. “I’m not asking you because I fell for your trick, I’m asking you to prove to you that there’s no way (Y/N) would ever like someone like Bakugou.”

“What if she did? What if she starts developing feelings for Bakugou because of this skit—” 

He sighed, “whatever you’re doing, just stop.”

Satisfied, she nodded and started leading him the way. “As one of her best friends, how would you react if she ended up with Bakugou, aka your archnemesis.”

“Again, she can like whoever she wants—” 

Mina groaned, slouching forward and squinting her eyes at the indigo haired, “I feel like you’re just saying that to come off cool. What are your honest feelings about it?”

Shinsou was feeling quite weird about this conversation. It's not that he's uncomfortable or anything, he's just so used to hiding his feelings for you. The only time he ever talks about it is when he's with Mina.

He doesn't do it by choice though, Mina asks all of the questions, and he just answers them willingly. He didn't even plan on telling her, but he ended up giving in since his pink friend wouldn't stop bothering him about it.

“I don’t get what you mean by that, my emotions are 100% certain—” 

“So, you’re willing to give up the girl you’ve been crushing on for years to someone you don’t even like a tad bit?”

“It’s not that I don’t like Bakugou,” Mina raised a brow, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Shinsou doesn't add anything else, looking back at her with the same expression. 

“What do you mean by that? Now you’re confusing me.”

He sighs, “I don’t hate everything about Bakugou, I’ll say that. I just don’t like how he approaches things. He’s also incredibly loud and annoying. Full of ego, too.” He kept going. 

“But you’d be fine if (Y/N) ends up with someone like him?”

It takes him a while to say his answer. He hasn't really thought about that. He really only settled with the fact that he's not planning on telling you his feelings, and that's it. 

There's no point in ruining a friendship. 

“Yeah, I’d be fine with it. Won’t say that I’ll give the dude special treatment though.” He takes in a deep breath and lowers his head.

“If the person she ends up with treats her right and makes her happy, I don’t see the problem. If she’s happy, I should be happy for her too. There’s no need to drag down her quality of life just because I hate the person she’s dating.”

She smiles lightly at him and sighs, “you really aren’t like most guys.”

“Just like my unspoken promise to her; I’ll only step in if she’s in danger or if I’m doubting the choices she’s planning on making. Everything else is up to her, not me.”

Mina looks at him with astonished eyes. She has never seen this Shinsou before and even though he wasn't talking about her, his words still made her ache. He seemed more fragile and vulnerable. 

Definitely not the usual sarcastic, smug, and stoic Shinsou she's used to seeing.

Landing a punch on his shoulder, she laughed, “I’m sure (Y/N) is happy having a friend like you.”

He nodded, “I can say the same about you.”

Mina giggled, “not saying I will, but what if I end up dating (Y/N) instead?” 

Shinsou chuckled, liking the challenge, “you’ll have to get my approval first.” Her eyes widened, “why is your answer different? I thought you said that (Y/N) can date whoever she wants!”

“Yeah, but if she ends up with you, you’ll have to compete with me. Just because I'm letting her date whoever she pleases does not mean I'm leaving her alone.”

“So you two have turned into a package deal?” 

He nodded, “I mean, does that include you or—” before he could finish his joke, he heard a familiar laugh coming from the garden area. 

“That was Momo, we must be close!” Mina starts hurrying her steps and Shinsou followed behind her. 

“Just admit that you’ve never done this before,” Kaminari yelled at Bakugou, pointing while laughing. “SHUT IT! I’LL SHOW YOU.”

You sighed, “we can go slow, y’know. Just tell me if we’re going too fast—” 

Bakugou takes offense to your words, glaring at you with his bright red eyes, “ARE YOU CALLING ME SLOW?!” You shook your head at him calmly, “I’m just saying. There’s no shame in slowing down; as long as you’re comfortable.”

“Should we just change this scene? If it’s a bit much—” 

“Shut it, ponytail. Don’t treat me like a kid. I was just confused, alright?”

“Alright then, why don’t we start from the—” 

“Hi everyone~!” Mina greeted with a bright smile. Shinsou simply waves his hand. “Mina and Shinsou? What are you two doing here?” Momo asked.

“Did you two come to check us out?” Kaminari asked, pointing at himself. 

“I told you guys not to wait for me.” You said, giving them a worried look, feeling bad that they probably had to wait for you. 

Mina shook her head, “yeah, but we got bored and decided to check what you guys were up to.”

Kaminari laughed loudly, “you guys should check Bakugou out, he’s a total mess—” before he could even finish, Bakugou lands a punch on the back of his head. 

“Say one more word, I’ll explode your ass, Dunce Face.”

“What’s the scene anyway?” Mina asked, leaning closer to Momo to check the script that was in her hands. “It’s just them hugging. (Y/N) is doing fine, but Bakugou ends up getting all stiff. He’s also not the best when it comes to genuine lines…”

“Why didn’t you guys just let Kaminari do it?” Mina looks over to the blond who was still recovering from the punch. 

Momo sighed, “it was actually going to be Kaminari, but…”

Bakugou picks him up by the back of his collar and pushes him towards you. “Why don’t you show everyone how you did it?”

Kaminari lets out a nervous laugh, “didn’t expect you to suddenly put me on the spot like this.” He rubbed the back of his head. 

“Will… (Y/N) be okay though?” Momo asked herself, rubbing her chin and looking at you for approval. You nodded and forced out a smile, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“She doesn’t seem very convincing…” Mina whispered to Shinsou who nodded in response. 

“Just try doing the hug part, I want to see. I'm sure it can't be that bad. What's the worst that could happen?” Mina gave Kaminari a thumbs up. 

He nodded quickly and takes a step closer to you nervously and just by doing that, he electrocuted you, causing you to step away and yelp. 

“T-That happens…” Momo said in a voice full of worry, rubbing her temples.

“S-SORRY ABOUT THAT!” He quickly apologized, bowing to you repeatedly while you gave him a sheepish smile. 

Mina rests her cheek on her hand, “So, Bakugou is stiff and is terrible with the emotional lines, and Denki is just overall awkward.” She summarized. 

“Have you two never hugged anyone before?” 

Bakugou clicked his tongue and looks away, “why would that have to do with this?” He responded angrily. Kaminari laughs, “I-I have but—” 

“No women?” Mina finishes, causing Kaminari to get embarrassed. 

“I guess these two need to be taught how a proper hug looks like first.” Mina looked around until her eyes landed on someone, grinning widely at them. 

“Here, why don’t (Y/N) and Shinsou show you guys how it’s done.” She said, gently shoving Shinsou towards you. 

Momo hummed, “I guess you’re right. It’ll be easier for the boys if they see it in action.”

You and Shinsou looked at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to say. “Come on you two, we don’t have all day. You’ve hugged before, don’t lie!” Mina yelled. 

“Yeah, but we’ve never hugged knowing that we’re being watched. That’s just weird…” you responded with. “How am I supposed to learn if the person representing us isn’t even worth representing?”

Shinsou glared at Bakugou but lets it go with a sigh, “what’s the scene about anyway?”

Momo looked down at the script and cleared her throat, “oh, my apologies. Person A, which is Bakugou, is letting Person B, (Y/N), go to someone else. Person A didn’t plan on confessing his feelings for Person B and once he realized that he should’ve just confronted her about it, it was too late and she was gone.”

Shinsou blinked, trying to think. He's not that big into superstition or anything but was this a message from the universe telling him something? 

“Well, are you ready?” You asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He quickly nodded, “let's just get this over with.” 

You wrapped your arms around Shinsou's neck while his arms were wrapped around your waist. His other hand reached over to your head as he caressed it lightly, closing his eyes. 

You could feel him pulling you closer and you just smiled lightly, returning the light squeeze back. 

Momo looked astonished along with everyone else including Bakugou. They didn't think Shinsou would have the ability to hug someone especially since it looked genuine and realistic.

Little did everyone know, Shinsou was actually projecting his feelings towards you through the hug. Mina saw it and just smiled it off while shaking her head at him. 

Finally pulling each other away, you gave them a look, “was that good?” 

Bakugou clicked his tongue and stepped forward, “I didn’t need that demonstration. I already knew what to do since the very beginning.”

Shinsou simply sighed and rolled his eyes at the blond. “I SAW THAT!” He walked over to Mina and she just giggled, “look at you. Who knew you could be such a great actor, Hitoshi.” She nudged, teasing the fellow.

He playfully rolled his eyes, “we should get going. We’re only distracting their practice.” He said and picked his bag up, walking away.

Mina panics and quickly catches up to him, saying her goodbyes to everyone. “W-Wait, is it because you don’t want to see her hugging Bakugou?”

He shook his head, “I’m not jealous, Mina. I'm leaving because I have nothing else to prove. Plus, we're gonna see them perform in class anyway.” She looks up at him and he was serious. Either he's actually a good actor, or that's what he meant truly.

“Did you realize something?” She asked. He slowly shrugged, “more or less. It’s more on the that (Y/N) would never replace me.”

“What do you mean?”

Shinsou looks up at the sky and smiled lightly, shaking his head. “No matter who she’s with or who she’s interested in, I’ll always be by her side and she knows that.”

Mina sighs, smiling at him being cheesy, “I guess you noticed how different her hugs are whenever it’s with you, huh.”

She looks at him and noticed that he still had a smile on his face. Rolling her eyes, she stretched her arms in the air, “sometimes you can actually be disgusting, Shinsou. But I can’t say I don’t like that about you.”

Mina points in her mouth and pretends to gag, causing Shinsou to laugh. “If you and (Y/N) do end up dating and you hurting her, I’m gonna beat your ass, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, why don’t I light myself on fire while you’re at it.”

“Relax, I know you won’t. But if you do, it’s on sight, got that, Hitoshi Shinsou?”

He heaved a breath, nodding, “yes, ma’am.”

Although Shinsou was confident about his statement the other day, he didn't expect the tables to turn on him. It was your group's turn to perform in front of everyone and he was getting annoyed before it even started. 

While you sat at the back in between Tokoyami and Hagakure, Shinsou wasn't so sure if he was lucky to have ended up between Mina and the angry blond he despised so much.

Even though he was somewhat close to the pink girl, there were times when he just wanted peace and quiet but unfortunately for him, he had to be beside two loudmouths.

He could tolerate Mina, but the last person he ever wants to be around would be none other than Katsuki Bakugou. But of course, two school years into the hero course, he has mastered the arts of ignoring the blond who would always try to argue with him whenever there was a chance.

Mina saw the rage through Shinsou's eyes while your group was discussing at the back of the classroom. Leaning towards him, she grinned, “someone doesn’t look too happy.”

He sighed, “shut it, will you.”

She was fairly satisfied at the tone of his voice, hinting annoyance. This caused Mina's grin to widen, “I’m just saying, don’t be so harsh on me now.”

Your performance was going smoothly, but as Shinsou and Mina knew, the upcoming scene that the two witnessed a few days ago was near. 

The whole class was shocked to see a new side to Bakugou. Yes, it was just him acting, but nobody could've ever guessed that he could deliver emotional lines so well. 

Even Midoriya was shocked. 

“Yeah, we’ll be moving tomorrow.” You said to Bakugou as you two were seated down on a bench. He chuckled with a sad smile, “you’re really leaving, huh.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided your gaze, eyeing the floor. You gently slapped his shoulder, “don’t look so sad, it’s not like I’m dying!” You laughed.

“I just can’t believe you’re moving to a different country.” He said in a saddened tone. You smiled lightly, “I’m not moving by myself, don’t worry.”

Your words caused Bakugou's fists that were on his lap to clench, biting his lip as he fought away the tears. 

“Shit the atmosphere is completely different,” Mina whispered, leaning forward on her desk, invested in the script and the acting.

Before Bakugou could say a word, your phone lets out a notification noise, causing him to widen his eyes. 

You fished it out of your pockets and read the message that was sent to you. You smiled contently at the message before turning it off and getting up from your seat.

“That was him, I best be going. He said the moving truck just arrived and needs my help.” Bakugou remained seated, looking up at you with widened eyes.

Smiling lightly at him and giving him a gentle head pat, “thank you for always being there for me.”

You start walking but before out of nowhere, he yanked you by your wrist and pulls you towards him. Spinning you, he wrapped his arms around you for a tight hug.

Stunned, you froze. 

The whole class was speechless and dead silent. 

“Please don’t go,” Bakugou said in a shaky voice. 

This was definitely different compared to the first time you both rehearsed. Sighing with a smile, you hugged him back, burying your face into his chest, “I’m not going anywhere, idiot.”

While you two continued with your performance, Mina glanced towards Shinsou and tried analyzing his expression. 

Like always, he was stoic and neutral as ever. 

Shinsou wasn't the easiest person to read. Hell, nobody ever knows what he's thinking about and it has become an official saying that only _you_ can truly understand and read him like a book.

The performance ends and the whole class gives your group a round of applause. Mina still fixated on Shinsou's expression, ended up not paying attention to the ending at all. 

After your group was done, he looked down at his notebook and continued with his business while she rested the side of her head on the desk and continued to observe him, humming. 

Giving in, Shinsou exhaled a breath, “what are you looking at?” He asked, eyes glued to his notes. 

Mina stretched her exams forward, “oh nothing. Expected you to blow a fuse.” She laughed. 

He sighed once again, “I’m not that immature. What do you take me for?”

She frowned, “I’m kind of upset. If you interrupted their performance and went, ‘(Y/N) IS MINE!’, it would’ve made it fifty times better.” Mina teased which earns her rolled eyes. 

“This isn’t some kind of drama or manga, this is real life.” He deadpanned.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” You apologized to your indigo haired friend who stood by the hallway. 

Homeroom just finished and the girls ended up dragging you into their discussion regarding prom. The moment Aizawa announced the news, everyone was ecstatic. 

“It’s fine,” he replied. The two of you started walking out of school together, talking about how the day went. 

“I can’t believe we got 100 points. It’s good to know our hard work paid off.” You stretched your arms, yawning. 

He hummed, “your group did do good, it’s no surprise.” You couldn't help but smile at his compliment, “you really think so? That means a lot.”

“So, are you excited for prom?” He suddenly changed the topic, causing you to stop your steps. Shinsou raised a brow and stopped as well, eyeing you with confused eyes.

“Did I say something wrong?” He asked, shoving a hand inside his pocket while the other remained on his side, holding onto his bag. 

You quickly shook your head, “no, it’s nothing like that. I just didn’t think you’d bring prom up since…”

It's not new to you how Shinsou feels about prom. After watching hundreds of films together with different genres, every time a movie contained a prom setting, it would turn into a ranting session. 

While he ranted about how useless and time-consuming it was, you'd simply just nod and listen to him.

He hummed, “I guess I can’t blame you for being shocked.”

You sighed with a smile, resuming your steps, “you’re planning on skipping, aren’t you?” It shocked you even more when it took him longer than you expected to respond.

“Most likely, but it depends.”

Looking at him with shocked eyes, you brought your hand to his forehead which causes him to flinch. “What are you—”

“Was just checking if you’ve gotten sick.” You responded, pulling your hand away when you felt that his temperature was fine. 

Shinsou wasn't sure if you meant that as an insult or not, but he shrugged it off. “I’m not saying that I’m going. Right now, I don’t plan to but if my mind changes and I decide to check it out just for pure boredom, then I might consider.”

“But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Ah, right. Well, I guess so? Mina and the others are going so I might as well.” 

He stopped to think, “do they have dates already?” 

His question caught you off guard and started to make you feel certain emotions. This caused you to start overthinking; you were probably misunderstanding his question.

“Some of them are planning on asking.” You replied. 

“Well, what about you?” He asked casually while you were freaking out internally, “w-well,” you stuttered, fumbling on your words. 

Even though he wasn't looking directly at you and paid more attention to where he was going, you still felt pressured. “I-I mean if someone asked then…”

You hated how casual and upfront he could be with things like these.

You could stare and just observe him all day without getting bored. As creepy as that sounds, you can't help but feel that way towards the boy. He was just so ethereal to you. 

“So, what if I were to say that Bakugou was planning on asking you to prom?”

Your eyes widened at his question. “That’s just an example, of course. But if he did, what would be your answer?”

You cleared your throat and tried to think of something fast while your mind was in shambles, “I-I’d say yes, I guess? I mean, it wouldn’t hurt, right?”

You didn't mean to sound so uncertain but Shinsou was just throwing you the most random questions that caused you to be uneasy.

“So, you’d really just take anyone?” This time his tone was much different and you noticed it. His eyes were focused in front while you just looked at him in the side. 

Scratching the back of your head as you looked away, “I’d go with someone I’m comfortable with, to be honest. And if no one does ask me, I’ll just go alone and spend time with my friends.”

You laughed, “that is if they don’t have dates of course. The last thing I want is third-wheeling for the whole night.” You heaved a breath.

Shinsou couldn't help but chuckle at your response, “this is why prom is stupid.” 

You looked at him and shook your head with a faint smile on your face, “look who’s talking. If I see you in prom, I’m never letting it go.” 

He rolled his eyes, “it won’t be that easy.”

While you two walked you spotted Bakugou walking with Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima while they loudly teased him. Usually, Mina would hang out with them but she ended up staying with the girls today.

Bakugou yelled at them which caused them to laugh even louder. You assumed they were probably teasing him because of earlier.

“You know, Bakugou’s actually a great hugger.” 

This time, it was Shinsou that was caught off guard. “Pardon?” He asked in an almost threatening way but you didn't notice it. 

“He might be stiff, but his body is pretty comfortable to be on.” You rubbed your chin and looked down on the ground to think. “Is that so?”

You nodded, “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either—”

You paused when you noticed the irritated tone in Shinsou's voice. “Is something wrong? You look troubled.” 

He shook his head calmly, “you’re seeing things.” 

You took in a deep breath and sighed, about to drop the topic until it dawns on you. You looked at him with raised brows.

“What?”

You slowly looked away, “not that I’m assuming or anything, but… are you in any way jealous—”

Shinsou lands a gentle karate chop on your head before you could finish, “quit spitting nonsense. Why would I be jealous especially to someone like Bakugou?”

You hummed and shrugged, “I don’t know, it seems like that to me.” 

He rubbed the back of his neck, clicking his tongue, “there’s nothing to be jealous about.” You failed to fight off the smile on your lips, “it’s okay to be jealous sometimes.”

Shinsou ignores you on purpose and starts hurrying his steps. This was the first time you're seeing him behave like this. “Toshi, come on! I was just joking.” You quickly caught up to him.

Again, he ignores you. With a sigh, you walked up behind him and wrapped your arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. 

This causes him to slow down a bit as you tried to make it harder for him to walk or escape, “just because I said Bakugou was a great hugger, doesn’t mean I prefer his than yours.”

Shinsou doesn't stop resisting, attempting to walk as if you were never there. “I never said he was better than me. Stop putting words in my mouth.” 

You groaned, “you’re being a child, come on. What can I do to repay you?”

Although he was trying his best to be petty and ignore you, he failed to fight off the smile that crept on his lips. This was definitely much harder than he thought.

Luckily you were behind him so you couldn't see how red his cheeks were becoming along with the smile that was only getting growing by the second. 

You finally let go of him, “fine then. Whoever talks to the other first loses.” 

Shinsou widened his eyes and looked back at you. He likes competing with you over the simplest things since he likes to tease you, but he wasn't sure if you were being serious or not.

Seeing his worried expression caused you to burst out laughing. You walked past him, putting your hands behind your back with a smug look on your face. 

“Just kidding~.” You teased and stuck your tongue out at the flustered boy. 

“You’re dead.”

You furrowed your brows and turned around, seeing that he started running towards you. Panicking, you started running away from him as fast as you could. 

“What the fuck are you doing?!” You yelled, trying your best not to look back or get caught. 

There were a few students who were out of their dorms and started observing you and Shinsou who were making a lot of noise. As predicted, you start slowing down and he easily caught up to you. 

“N-Not fair… you… you’re too… f-fast…” you said in between breaths, trying to recollect yourself. He sighed pitifully at your horrible form, “at least you ran longer this time.”

You glared at him while he snickered. “Not fucking funny,” you deadpanned. 

Gently patting your head, he walked right past you and started making his way to the entrance of the dorms. “If you are going to prom, you better not be going with Bakugou.”

You looked at him in surprise. _“Why do you keep bringing Bakugou and prom up?”_ You thought.

“Do you hate him that much?”

“If he ends up falling for you, he’ll have to go through me first.”

Before you could even ask him what he meant by that, he already entered the dorms and left you alone outside. This caused you to start thinking about what he just said. 

While you stood there dumbfounded, out of nowhere someone lands a slap on your back, causing you to jolt forward. 

“Quit it, lovebirds.” Mina teased. You heaved a breath, “how many times do I have to tell you—”

You looked around and noticed she was all by herself. “Where are the others?” You changed the subject. “Oh, they’re still walking. I was with them too but when I saw that Shinsou was running after you while you yelled at him to stop, I decided to check what the ruckus was about.”

“Anyways, I wanted to ask you an important question.” Mina gives you a light smile.

You raised a brow at her, wondering what this question could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> godd this has been in the drafts for a week now hhh i've made 2 other chs too but i decided to scratch those bc they didn't seem good enough and i ended up hating how they turned out i'm so sorry huhu even this ch was hard for me to write since i kept doubting myself if it was good enough or not, so please bare w me 
> 
> don't forget to hydrate and get plenty of rest !! <3


	55. Careless Mistakes

You sat down across Mina, getting worried at how serious she was getting. At first, you thought she was just going to ask you to teach her the most recent lessons from class, but this was definitely about something else.

“So, what is it that you wanted to ask?” You broke the silence, your hands resting on your lap. 

Mina inhales a deep breath, causing you to hold yours. “(Y/N),” she says in a calming voice, almost threatening. 

You gulped, raising your eyebrows at her with a hum. 

She then proceeds to position herself, sitting up straight and looking straight into your eyes, her bright yellow irises looked at you intensely. “Do you have feelings for Hitoshi Shinsou?”

You looked at her with the same expression. She went silent and gives you a neutral expression. After a few more seconds had passed, you head over towards her and start shaking her around violently.

“You bitch— WAS THAT THE QUESTION YOU’VE BEEN DYING TO ASK ME?!” You raised your voice, still shaking your pink friend back and forth while she giggled at your priceless reaction.

“Can you blame me?”

You finally stopped and heaved a long breath, “you dumbass, don’t scare me like that.” You placed a hand on your chest, now sitting down beside her figure.

“I was convinced at first that you and Shinsou really were just friends, but you guys are just acting weird now.” You looked at her offendedly, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You guys used to be all buddy-buddy in the fun type of way, but now I can feel the intimate tension from miles away; it’s almost sickening.” She said the last part as a joke before grinning widely at you, nudging your side.

“Seems like someone is finally growing up.” She teased even more. 

With a sigh, you ran your hands through your hair in frustration. “You don’t even need to tell me for me to know you’ve somehow developed feelings for the man. Your face says it all.”

“Well? Are you going to tell me?” She continued, face getting closer and closer to yours.

You turned the other way, “why would I need to tell you? You just said my answer.” You said, rolling your eyes at your friend.

Mina groaned loudly, “that doesn’t count! I’ve been waiting for you to admit your feelings for him for literal years. I didn’t wait this damn long just for you to respond with a ‘you know my answer’ type of crap.” She glared at you.

Holding your hands up in the air, you gave up. “Fine, alright. I have feelings for—”

“Nope, say his full name. I want to hear it loud and clear too.” You started to glare at her while she smirked. “I’m waiting~!” She sang proudly.

“You’re such a child, you know that, right?” 

“Yet you still love me.” She said teasingly, grinning widely at you. 

“If it makes you stop your game then fine, I have feelings for Hitoshi Shinsou—” 

Before you could even finish, something behind Mina started repeating the same exact words and it also sounded just like you. Then it hits you.

“You motherfuck—” 

Mina revealed her phone that she was hiding behind her back and starts repeating the recording. “I have feelings for Hitoshi Shinsou. I have feelings for Hitoshi Shinsou.” The device kept repeating.

“Mina, delete—”

“I have feelings for Hitoshi Shinsou.” She pressed on the play button again. Now you were starting to get annoyed, but you shrugged it off.

“Fine, whatever. Just don’t go blasting that—”

Mina suddenly gets up from the ground and starts booking it out of her room. You widened your eyes, taking you a while to register what just happened. 

Quickly getting up on your feet, you start running after her. _“What’s with people forcing me to run today?”_ You asked yourself. 

While you were running after her, using your Quirk to your advantage, Mina starts moving left and right, making it harder for you to aim in her direction while running. 

“NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!” Iida yelled as you both charged down towards the common room. 

“Mina, whatever you’re planning on doing with that… if you value your life, give me your phone right now.” You said in between breaths. 

Just when you used your Quirk in hopes you get the phone from her hand, Kaminari comes out of nowhere which causes him to fly in your direction. 

Quickly dodging your own attack, you managed to stay untouched but unfortunately, you couldn't say the same for the boy who ended up landing against the wall, knocking him out cold.

“D-DENKI!” Kirishima yelled in a panic, running towards his friend as he tried to shake him back to reality.

Taking this opportunity, Mina runs out of the dorms and now you knew exactly what she had planned. Shinsou had training with Aizawa and she was running in the direction where they were at. 

Although you had a quite powerful Quirk, you were still getting used to aiming at moving objects. Sure your Quirk could overpower Mina's almost instantly, but her fast reflexes were something you had to be cautious about. And at times like this, it was starting to piss you off.

And since you already used your Quirk on Kaminari by accident, you were already reaching your limit especially since you were wasting more of your stamina by running.

Shinsou lands a punch at his teacher but almost lost his balance at the end. Aizawa, seeing an opening, grabbed Shinsou by his arm in an attempt to flip him over. 

Resisting, the boy manages to stop the attack and counters it instead, using binding cloth to restrain his teacher from landing any more attacks. Finally having his teacher pinned down on his stomach, he panted loudly, wiping his sweat with his sleeves.

“Not bad, but you’re being too confident—”

Shinsou stopped Aizawa's leg using his scarf, again. This made his mentor chuckle, “not bad.” Finally letting Aizawa go, Shinsou looks down disappointedly, “you were going easy on me again, weren’t you?”

The man shrugged, folding his arms on his chest. “Even if I was, you shouldn’t be doubting your skills. Do we need to talk about that again?”

Shinsou quickly shook his head, “no, not at all, _sensei_. I’ll try not to next time.”

While they were discussing what could be improved, the two froze at the screaming in the background. They knew right away who those voices belonged to, but they didn't know why it was coming closer and closer.

And in the bushes comes out you on top of Mina, having her pinned down on the ground while your knee was right on her back. “I’m never forgiving you.” 

You snatched her phone out of her grasp and successfully deleted the recording. With what, you exhaled a relieved breath, feeling all the weight on your body vanish instantly. 

You felt two pairs of eyes looking at you from the side. Moving your head slowly, you saw that it was Aizawa and Shinsou giving you odd and concerned stares. 

“How dare you two interrupt our training.” Aizawa glared at you both and started approaching you. 

You let out a nervous laugh, stepping off of Mina as you gave your teacher a crooked smile, “I-I didn’t mean to, _sensei_ , I swear! It’s just that Mina recorded something on her phone without my permission and she was running around with it—”

“Ashido, on your feet. Now.” 

Following her teacher's orders, she gets back up on her feet and salutes him. “Is what (Y/N) said true?” He glared at the pink girl who flashed him a nervous smile.

“Unfortunately, yes.” She admitted willingly.

Aizawa continues to scold you both but mostly Mina while Shinsou was just observing from the side. It ended with him telling Mina to do 5 laps around campus. 

Unfortunately for you, you ended up getting punished as well but not as bad as Mina. You just ended up being on cleaning duty for a whole week.

“No slacking off, Ashido. If you don’t finish by 5 PM, I’m adding 2 more laps.” He turned to Shinsou while Mina started running, “training is over today, Shinsou. Remember what I told you and keep practicing those drills.”

Once Mina was gone, his eyes landed on yours, and looked at you intensely. “Keep an eye on your phone later, I have some updates.”

You quickly nodded your head before he finally left to monitor Mina, checking if she was really doing the laps or not. 

Aizawa walked away and you exhaled a deep and long breath, relieved. Shinsou walks up beside you, “what was on Mina’s phone anyway?”

“J-Just a photo. Don’t worry about it.” You said quickly, turning the other direction to hide your face. Shinsou decided to drop it for now and shrugged.

“A-Anyways… I’m gonna head back to the dorms. What about you?” You scratched the back of your head, trying to mask your nervousness. Shinsou looked down at his scarf and held onto it tighter with a sigh.

He looks up, “I’m going to stay a bit longer.” 

You slowly nodded and was about to leave him be until your eyes landed on his forearm, seeing a scratch. Quickly, you grabbed it without warning and took a closer look at it. 

This causes Shinsou to let out a hiss. Your eyes widened, immediately apologizing to the boy. You looked intensely at it.

Shinsou sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “accidentally scraped it on one of the trees here when I was using the cloth to swing around.” He explained before you could even ask.

You looked up at him with slightly squinted eyes, “you really need to stop pushing yourself.”

You started to look at your surroundings and saw a bench nearby, holding him by his wrist and dragging him there. You forced him to sit down, taking a closer look at the scratch.

“It’s really nothing.” As usual, he shrugged off his injuries like they were simply nothing. 

You glared up at him, pouting, “you need to start acting mature. Can’t you see that you’re bleeding?” You scolded, pointing at the scratch while he just heaved a breath, “you’re overreacting.”

“It’s not like the blood is pouring down. You should head back, I’ll be here for a while.”

“Stop being careless. I only have bandages with me.” You said as you took out a roll in your pocket. Shinsou wasn't new to this. He always found it odd how you'd always bring bandages or band-aids around no matter where you go. 

He remembered asking you about them for the first time, but your answer was always, “it’s better to be safe than sorry.” 

He chuckled at the memory, “a bandage will do fine. You’re making it sound like I got stabbed.” He ran his fingers through his hair, still feeling his sweat from earlier. 

Sighing, you gave in to the careless boy's demands. You do tend to overreact whenever you notice one of your friends are hurt, but you can't tell if that really is a good or a bad thing.

Looking over to the side, you ran and snatched what you assumed was his water jug. Taking your seat down beside him on the bench, you soaked your handkerchief using water.

“You can be so careless, you know that, right?” You scolded him, cleaning his forearm with the wet piece of cloth. Shinsou observed your features closely. 

It's not everyday he gets to see you this close. He admired your focused expression and habits. Whenever you're in the zone, you tend to forget your surroundings. And once you were out of it, a smile would make its way to your lips and it's a beautiful sight to him.

While you continued to scold him in the background, he couldn't help but not listen. He was tuning your words out while his eyes never left you. 

His lavender orbs slowly looked down into your lips before licking his own without realizing. 

You exhaled a long breath, “if you keep being this reckless, you’ll leave me no choice but to keep pestering you. Do you really expect me to take care of you until we're old—” 

Once you were done wrapping his arm up, you looked up to glare at him only to almost bump into his face. Your eyes widened, not realizing how close you were to him, you felt ashamed.

You would've leaned away but something inside of you was telling you not to. You both locked eyes and no one was planning on moving away whatsoever. 

You saw him taking a quick glance on your lips before looking back into your eyes. “But what if that’s exactly what I want you to do?” He lets out.

Your eyes widened even more and the next thing you knew he started leaning closer to your lips, feeling each other's breaths lightly graze your faces.

Just seconds before your lips could meet, a loud yell interrupts your moment together, causing you both to snap back into reality. 

“AIZAWA- _SENSEI_ , PLEASE NO MORE!” Mina begged loudly from the distance, enough for you and Shinsou to hear. 

You quickly turned the other way and stood up, laughing nervously, “I-I better check on M-Mina.” You pointed at the direction the noise was coming from. 

Shinsou nodded, “y-yeah, you probably should.” He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided your eyes as well. Without saying your goodbyes, you start running away, your hand covering your mouth.

You approached Mina who was on her knees, begging Aizawa with clasped hands, tears rolling down her eyes. Aizawa notices you from the side and turns to look at you, “(Y/N), can you please take Mina—” 

“N-NO PROBLEM!” You grabbed her by her collar and waved your teacher goodbye before booking it, dragging her behind you using the help of your Quirk.

While you were gone, Shinsou exhaled a deep breath and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees while he buried his head in his hands. _“What the fuck were you thinking…”_

The whole scene replayed in his head and he remembered how fast you distanced yourself from him when you realized what he was doing. 

This causes Shinsou to clench his fists tightly, “she doesn’t like you, idiot.” He told himself, pulling on his hair out of frustration. 

Shinsou starts beating himself up, regretting what he had just done. He remembered the look in your eyes before you leaned away, bringing an aching feeling into his chest. 

You were afraid.


	56. Chapter 56

Once you arrived at the dorms, everyone turned their heads towards you and Mina, who had just entered. “Is Kaminari okay?” You asked.

Kirishima nodded, pointing at his friend that was resting on his lap, “he’s fine, don’t worry!” You made your way towards the blond and bowed, apologizing. 

He sat up and gave you a friendly smile, “it’s fine, you meant to harm—”

Kaminari paused and gave you an odd look. “I still have some stuff to work on in my room, so if you guys need anything, I’ll be glad to help.” You said quickly and rushed towards the elevator.

Once the metal doors closed in front of you, you leaned your back against the wall and slid down, covering the lower half of your face with a hand while your face starts to flush.

While you were rushing back, using your Quirk on Mina to go faster, you were quiet the whole time and tried your best to not get shaken up or make her ask what happened.

But knowing Mina and how observant she is, she probably saw right through you. 

You were so deep into thought you didn't even realize that the doors had opened and someone entered. He raised his eyebrows at you, worried to see you seated in the elevator all by yourself, “are you okay, (Y/N)?”

You looked up and saw a pair of heterochromia eyes. He crouches down to meet you at eye level, “have you gotten sick? You’re rather red…” 

Quickly shaking your head, you got back up on your feet, reassuring the male. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking, Todoroki.” You gave him a warm smile.

He doesn't look too convinced. After all, seeing you at this state seemed rather familiar to him. He looked at your hands and noticed they were shaking. 

“Would you like me to prepare you some tea? Whenever I’m sick, I usually make myself a cup of tea and after some time, I start feeling better.”

You smiled and shook your head, turning the other way as you rubbed your elbow, “no need to worry about me. I need to get going though, thanks for the offer!”

Since he was stepping on the censors, the elevator doors never closed. You walked right past him and ran to your room which was just down the hall. 

Once you made it to your dorm, you locked yourself inside and slammed your back against the door, taking deep breaths. You start pacing around your room, trying to register what just happened. 

_“No, that was all a dream. Some kind of hallucination my mind made up, yeah.”_ You thought to yourself, biting on your thumb while your eyes were all over the place. 

You continued to pace around, overthinking about the situation until your train of thought was interrupted by your phone. Feeling it vibrate in your pocket caused you to flinch, quickly fishing it out with a hand.

You looked at the notification on your lock screen, your previous thoughts immediately disappearing. 

**Aizawa- _sensei_**  
_I have updates regarding Kim._

You sat down on your bed and took in a deep breath. There was this painful feeling settling inside of you; this message didn't feel right. If anything related to Kim was brought up, you knew it wouldn't be anything good. 

While your trust in the hero association was long gone, you still had the tiniest trust in your teacher. You wouldn't even call it trust, it was just hope at this point.

Gulping, you waited for him to finish typing. 

**Aizawa- _sensei_**  
_Meet me outside in 20 minutes._

Those were the most painful 20 minutes of your life. You stayed in your room and tried thinking about the possible update. Assumptions from Kim getting relocated to her getting executed.

There had been a few times when you would zone out of the topic and you would start thinking about a pair of tired lavender eyes looking at you. 

Shaking those thoughts away, you got up from your bed once time had passed and it was time to meet your teacher. You decided to take the elevator again, trying to avoid as much human interaction as possible.

While waiting for the metal room to arrive on the ground floor, you kept looking at your phone and kept staring at Aizawa's message, repeating it in your head.

Finally, the metal room stops moving, making you move towards the door and wait for them to slide open. 

You stopped when you were met with a figure before you. Slowly looking up, you locked eyes with a familiar pair of orbs. Orbs that you had just been thinking about. 

_“Fuck,”_

Before any of you could say a word, you move to the side so he could pass, quickly walking past the male and made your way towards the entrance. 

Shinsou just stood there, words not able to leave his mouth. 

“Where are you heading this late?” Momo asked you, giving you worried eyes. You grabbed on the doorknob and gave her a reassuring smile, “I just need to walk around for a bit, don’t worry too much.”

You made your escape and closed the door behind you, feeling yourself shrink as a sigh left your lips. You start walking and notice your teacher was nowhere to be found.

You glanced at your phone to check the time, “am I too early?”

You heaved a breath and shoved your phone inside of your pocket, deciding to just walk around for a while since it wouldn't hurt. 

Shinsou entered the dorm, closing the door behind him as he was immediately greeted by his classmates that were hanging out in the common area. 

“Oh, Shinsou’s here,” Todoroki said. 

“Did I miss anything?” He asked, looking to see what the group was doing together. They shook their heads, “we’re just watching a movie that Iida suggested. Spoiler alert, it’s shit.”

The blue-haired male starts lecturing them about the movie, telling them that it was a masterpiece and that they could never appreciate such art.

Shinsou was dozing off during this before he tells Todoroki that he was heading to the showers. “(Y/N)’s in her room if you need anything.” He lets out, causing the male to freeze for a second.

He didn't bother to ask why he just said that to him. Shrugging it off, he continued. Since you two often took the stairs together since the elevator was usually occupied, he decided to take it this time.

While he was training, he was actually wasting time instead. His focus was gone and he just kept thinking of ways to confront you about what happened. 

Just in time, the metal doors opened. When he was about to step in, he had almost bumped into someone. The last person he wanted to see right now. 

You both met eyes, his heart racing. Shinsou had so much to say, yet no words wanted to leave him. He was frozen, still, and it felt like he just forgot how to breathe for a second until you moved past him.

He lowered his head as you stormed off to the door. 

_“Is this the end?”_

You looked down at the file in disbelief. Aizawa looks at your nervous expression and sighs, shoving his hands inside of his pockets as he turned away, “I want you to look at her files before I tell you the update I got.”

Nodding, you opened it. It was the same file the lady handed to you during your undercover mission. Your eyes scanned through it like a hawk, trying to see if there were any changes or any detail you missed.

“You have most likely noticed, but take a look at her photo.” 

Following his words, you looked at the photo of Kim attached and examined it. He points at it with his index, “This was most likely taken before they ran tests on her.” He said.

And he was right. This Kim actually had life in her, unlike the one you just met recently. It's not like you can blame her for acting that way. 

Right now, you would've called the cops and the authorities; unfortunately for you, those are the last people you trust and want to see at the moment.

“I guess it’s also about time I tell you. I’ll cut to the chase, they’re planning to move Kim.”

You almost dropped the files due to shock, looking up at Aizawa with disbelief written all over your face. 

“ _Sensei_ , you can’t be serious… where are they planning on taking her?” You asked, panic in your voice.

“They’re planning on transferring her to Yokohama for further testing.”

You felt your knees start to give up on you. Your teacher notices and catches you by your shoulders as you kept your head down low. “Before you think of anything, I want you to hear about something.”

Not moving an inch, he continued, still supporting your figure. 

“I don’t think they’re moving Kim.”

That's when you looked up at him with raised brows. You two headed towards a bench and decided to talk more there.

It might've been silent, but your thoughts were loud, and your skull was about to burst open. 

“Why would you… think that?” You said in a weak voice, almost like a whisper. Aizawa leans back and inhales, “simply because it’s a trap.”

You thought more about it, and he wasn't wrong, but he was also not right. Without saying a word, he saw right through you. “This piece of information is not easy to get, I’m sure you know that more than anyone. Which is why this is a trap and I'm sure of it.”

“While I was on my visit, two staff members were talking about test subject 1334 getting transferred tomorrow night.” And with that, you opened the file once again and saw that those are the same exact numbers written beside her name.

“Just with that information, I’m sure you understand the situation.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his lap, his hands clasped together. 

You nodded, “they know that you’re the one leaking the info.” He hummed, “and if that is true, they must know this has something to do with you.” 

You didn't respond. You didn't want to. 

At this point, your life means nothing to you; you just want Kim back and safe. Not just her, but all of the people they're testing if there are any. You knew for sure that this had to do with a substance of some sort that involves Quirks. You just didn't know what it does.

Aizawa's hand rests on top of your head, waking you back up to reality. “Don’t look so serious. You can save Kim _and_ be alive at the same time.”

You looked at him in shock, _“can you mind read now?”_

Your reaction earns a chuckle, “believe me, I was like you when I was younger. I promise you that you both will make it out alive, copy?” You flashed him a smile and nodded. 

_“Right now, it’s best if we lay low and not do anything careless that could worsen the situation. I’ll continue my usual visits since that’ll be the less suspicious option compared to stopping my visits so suddenly. As usual, please don’t tell anyone about this. It’s already bad enough that you know, got it?”_

His words have been repeating in your head since last night and you barely got a wink of sleep. You weren't feeling tired either. Not only that, but your appetite completely vanished. You didn't eat dinner and breakfast. 

Your classmates didn't know though since you always used the “I ate ahead of everyone” card. 

“(Y/N), we’re off to eat lunch do you want anything? I’ll bring back food for you.” You quickly turned your head to look at Mina and shook it, “I’m good, I brought some sandwiches with me.”

She heads off with Bakugo, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero. You heaved a breath once the majority of your classmates had left. 

You still had a lot to think about. 

Shinsou bent over and grabbed the can inside the machine, opening it. Midoriya, who was stood beside him hummed, “Shinsou, I need your help.”

He raised a brow and doesn't respond verbally, taking a sip from the can of expresso. “I’m doing my Quirk study and I’m trying to fill (Y/N)’s page up. Do you perhaps know any of her weaknesses or strengths?” 

The mention of your name left a bitter taste on his tongue, and it definitely wasn't the coffee. He pulled the can away from his lips, “you should ask her and not me. And can you quit that study of yours? It’s getting unnecessarily creepier each year.”

Midoriya sighed, “I just don’t know. I placed running and over-exhaustion but that’s all I got.” Shinsou finished his drink shortly after that and threw the can away, “I’m heading back to class, you coming?”

The green head rejected, “I still need to meet up with Todoroki and Momo in the library for something.” The two said their goodbyes and parted ways.

Shinsou started thinking about you after a certain friend of his mentioned your name. Last night you didn't eat dinner and this morning you had already left by the time he was eating breakfast. 

You did leave the dorm for a walk and took you a while to come back. Remembering your conversation with Aizawa before he left you two alone, he assumed you had met up with his mentor to discuss about the Kim situation; so now he was confused whether or not you were avoiding him because of what he did, or because you need space to think. 

It seemed to be you were shutting Mina out as well. He heaved a breath, imagining how Mina would act if she found out what he did by accident. 

Shinsou opened the door to your classroom and entered, closing it behind him. “You should really eat, here!” From the corner of his eye, he spots Aoyama trying to shove a piece of cheese in your mouth while you resist.

“I-I already ate, quit it.” He sighed, “no, you did not. I saw you just sitting and eating nothing!” 

“I did eat, you just didn’t see it.” This quarrel continued until a hand suddenly placed something down on your desk. 

You looked up and Shinsou shoved his hands inside of his pockets before turning around to head back to his desk, “we have Heroics later. You better not pass out during training.”

Your eyes move to look at the onigiri on your desk. You looked back at Shinsou and he was already seated by his desk writing things down in his notebook. You slowly picked it up and noticed he had gotten your favorite filling.

Aoyama looks at you with his cheek rested on his hand, smiling, “are you still willing to take my cheese?” You heaved a breath at the blond, shaking your head at him. 

You ended up feeling bad and eating the onigiri he got you. While consuming it, you thought to yourself why he had one on him especially if it was your favorite. _Did he know you were skipping?_

You couldn't blame him though. He did read you like a book and he was good at it too. 

He wasn't wrong about you passing out in Heroics. Although you haven't yet, you felt your legs getting weaker. If it weren't for the onigiri Shinsou gave you during lunch you'd definitely be passed out in Recovery Girl's officer right now.

“Great run, Young (Y/N)!” All Might complemented while you stood beside him, eyeing your classmates on the monitor. Just your luck the training map had to be the ocean.

Today's lesson was doing a rescue drill during a storm in the ocean. You've gotten better at transporting civilians using your Quirk, but the violent rocking of the ship was making you nauseous especially since you only had a single onigiri for lunch.

“I could’ve done better.” You simply replied to your teacher who turned his head at you. Smiling lightly, his hand slowly rests on top of your head, “don’t overwork yourself.”

The doors open and in comes Tsuyu with an unconscious Sero behind her, dragging him using her tongue that was wrapped around his ankle. 

Before All Might could say a thing, you stepped forward and offered to help her. “Young Asui, why don’t you rest up for a while? Uraraka and (Y/N) can you two please take Sero to Recovery Girl?”

You two looked at each other with raised brows before agreeing, confused why he just assigned two students with Quirks that involve gravity to handle one student. 

Shrugging it off, Uraraka decided to use her Quirk instead and you didn't mind. “You were really cool out there, Ochako.” You complimented, taking a sip from your water. 

She blushed and laughed nervously, “I-I did alright. I definitely could’ve done better.” You smiled lightly, “same,” 

Uraraka's eyes slowly looked down at your hand and saw it trembling a bit. “Are you okay?” She asked, giving you a worried look. 

You quickly nodded, reassuring her, “yeah, just kind of upset that I did terribly. Is that how you usually feel when you overuse your Quirk?” 

She couldn't help but giggle, “guess you can say I got used to it, huh.”

Since Tsuyu was the person who's best at anything involving water, she ended up being on watch duty just in case any accidents happened which explains the paralyzed Sero behind you both.

“Oh, that reminds me.” She suddenly lets out.

You raised your eyebrows at her. “Are you planning on asking anyone to prom?” She asked you with a smile that makes you hum, “I’m assuming Midoriya asked you already?” 

Her eyes quickly widened, “w-what? Why would you say something like that?” She stuttered in almost every word, making you laugh. She heaved a breath, shaking her head.

“I don’t think he’ll be asking me.”

You scoffed loudly, “who do you want to go with then? Bakugou? Kirishima? Or the guy behind us?” You joked, but she starts panicking even more. 

“W-Well, what about you? Are you planning on asking anyone?”

You looked away from her and hummed. You shook your head, “I can’t really think of anyone.” 

She pouted at you, “what about Shinsou then? I mean… friends can go together, right?” You didn't know why she sounded so nervous saying the last part, but you ignored it.

“He doesn’t like the idea of prom, that’s why.”

“Speaking of Shinsou, he has improved a lot. Even in situations that don’t involve his Quirk, he can still manage to do things like combat thanks to his training with Aizawa- _sensei_.”

You chuckled, smiling lightly, “he really is.” 

Then, of course, the scene that happened yesterday starts playing in your head. How close Shinsou was getting. How his eyes make you feel like putty in his hands. 

You both finally made it to her office and she starts doing her usual routine. Asks you both questions about what happened, checked his pulse and everything, before landing a soft kiss on him.

While the boat was rocking violently under the storm and Sero was swinging around the ship using his tape, he didn't expect the ship to suddenly tilt, causing him to land head first on a metal pole.

Even with his helmet on, it was still a hard hit.

After a minute, Sero eventually opened his eyes. He sat up and rubbed the side of his head that was aching, “aw fuck…” he cursed. 

Not long after he had woken up, someone entered the room, “Heroics is ending early today, so if you guys are done, please head straight to the classroom.” Momo announced.

You looked at her with raised brows, “what? How come? Didn’t we just start?” She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head.

“Kaminari accidentally activated his Quirk while underwater, which caused the whole course to short circuit.” 

The three of you, along with Recovery Girl, sighed nonchalantly. “Is Tsuyu okay?” She nodded with a smile, “thankfully, she is.”

You all released relieved breaths; at least no one was hurt. It's scary how Kaminari's Quirk can actually kill a man if he tried. Who knows what would've happened if someone was in the water when it happened...

The four of you started heading back to the classroom with no issue. “(Y/N), how have you been?” Momo asked out of nowhere, catching you off guard. 

You raised your brows at her, “I’m fine, why do you ask?” 

She slowly shook her head, “maybe I was just thinking too much about it, but… you kind of looked ill when it was your turn. I just wanted to make sure.”

You heaved a breath, “I-It’s alright…” you said painfully, wondering if it was that obvious. Looking down at your hand, which was trembling slightly, you took in a deep breath and released. 

_“I’ll just have to work harder.”_


	57. Your Relationship

You packed your things inside your bag slowly while feeling the pain in your stomach increase. The effect of skipping meals was finally starting to kick in, making you want to sit back down to breathe a bit more. 

It had been a while since you felt this much pain after a long day; you're even surprised that you didn't pass out like you used to. 

You heaved a breath, feeling grateful for Midnight's intense training when you were a first-year. Although you wanted to avoid her as much as you could, even you could admit that if it weren't for her, you wouldn't be the strong person you were today. 

Just admitting that made your insides twist and turn.

Looking around the classroom, you noticed that everyone had already left but you. A few people had offered you to walk with them, but you kindly declined, telling them that you had a few things to do when in reality, you just needed some time to think. 

You flung your bag over a shoulder while your free hand rubbed your stomach. Walking out of the classroom, you closed the huge door behind you as you made your way towards the steps. 

Although your classmates were gone, there were still a few students roaming around the halls; they were either alone, with a friend, or in groups. Having that sight bestowed upon you made you feel a bit lonely, but it was unavoidable. 

Now that you think about it, you didn't even see Shinsou leave the classroom. _“He probably went with Midoriya or Mina.”_

Those thoughts slowly transitioned to your conversation with Aizawa. If anything, the new information he told you was eating you whole. Those thoughts turned dark instantly as you start to overthink once again. 

What were their future plans for Kim? Were there more test subjects? Do they have a room saved for you if you get caught? What happens to Aizawa if this escalates? Can you really rely on anyone? Are you willing to sacrifice your life to save her or others? 

Reaching your limit, you ran towards the nearest bush and proceeded to let it all out behind it. You were in a crouched position while you threw up, trying not to get any puke on your clothes. 

You hugged your stomach as you let out a painful groan. Wiping the excess off the corner of your lips, you heaved a breath, silently hoping that no one gets to witness the mess you had just created. 

“Isn’t this a sight,” Someone said behind you. 

Recognizing the voice, you slowly got up on your feet and turned around, meeting a pair of purples. “Hey,” you greeted awkwardly, averting your eyes as you felt ashamed that he had to see you in such a state. 

You don't recall what happened after that, but there you were, cleaning yourself up in the girls restroom while Shinsou waited for you outside patiently. 

You rinsed your face and wiped the water off using a handkerchief he had lent you. Looking at yourself in the mirror, you noticed how pale you had gotten. Sighing, you slapped your cheeks lightly before heading out of the restroom, not wanting him to wait any longer. 

“Sorry you had to see that, and for your handkerchief, I’ll give it to you tomorrow after I wash it myself.” 

He slowly shook his head, “it’s fine,”

The two of you stood in front of each other awkwardly, not knowing what to say and unsure what was appropriate. One thing's for sure, you both wanted to set things clear. 

“About yesterday—” you both said at the same time, eyes widening. 

Letting out a nervous laugh, “y-you first,” you insisted, Shinsou slowly nodded, his hand reaching up to his neck as he rubbed it. “Why don’t we walk while I… you know,” 

You quickly nodded your head, the two of you walking out of school to head to the Heights Alliance. 

The walk was silent. Painfully silent. Shinsou was coming up with ways on how to start his explanation, but he wasn't making any progress at all. It's not like he could start with, “hey, sorry I almost kissed you back there, I was acting irrationally, and hopefully you can forget it ever happened.” He thought.

Heaving a breath, he calmed himself down but kept his head and eyes front. “You’re not mad at me, are you?” He lets out, and he immediately regrets it. 

Shinsou didn't mean to sound _that_ pathetic. 

You slowly shook your head, also avoiding his gaze, “no, not at all.” Your response was short and simple, and as much as you wanted to respond with something less dry, you couldn't think of anything else to add. 

A conversation with Shinsou has never been this painful before. This felt like you were walking on eggshells, except some eggshells had a bomb hidden inside them that could be easily triggered. 

A relieved breath left his lips, “that’s good to know.” 

If you had to be completely honest, you had a lot of things on your mind for the past day. It was hard to think of one thing, especially since it involved two people you care about a lot in your life. 

“How have you been though?” He casually shifts the conversation into a different direction, hoping that this will make it more natural and less awkward. 

You gently shrugged, “I’m doing okay, I guess. Just have a lot in my mind, you know the deal.” You let out a chuckle, having a sad smile on your lips.

“What about your health? You weren’t looking too good during Heroics earlier. Not only that, but I also happen to witness your mishap behind a bush.” 

Letting out a nervous laugh, you slowly turned your head the other way, "yeah..." 

“But you did great, though. I just wished you didn’t skip so many meals today.” Shinsou quickly retracts his words, worried if he had said it too harshly.

“It’s not like I had the appetite to. Still, thanks for giving me food during lunch. If it weren’t for that, who knows what would’ve happened.”

Shinsou couldn't help but chuckle, “do you really not know what would’ve happened?” He finally manages to look at you. 

You fought off a blush, hiding it as much as you could without being too obvious, “I guess so,” 

Just now. That warmth you felt. 

You suddenly lost control of your legs; luckily, Shinsou was quick to react and managed to grab hold of you before you could fall. 

“Are you alright?” His voice gets a bit louder, looking at you with worried eyes. You flashed him a smile, nodding. 

Cautiously letting go of you to check if you were really alright, the moment he saw your legs wobbling, he knew you had completely reached your limit. 

Shinsou didn't know if he was thinking too negatively or lowly of you, but he was shocked that you hadn't passed out yet. The dorm wasn't that far, but the last thing he wanted was you walking, especially in your current state. 

Taking you to the nearest bench, he sits you down. Shinsou takes his blazer off and wraps it around your waist while you looked at him with raised brows, confused with what he was doing. 

He then proceeded to crouch down and turn his back on you, “you still have the strength to hop on, right?” He asked. 

You blinked, letting his question sink in before you realized what he meant. “You want me to ride your back?!” You asked a little too loudly.

Shinsou hummed, “people call it a piggyback ride nowadays, but sure.”

“I can walk just fine—”

“Do you really want to test that theory right now?” He cuts you off. 

You sighed, giving in. With the remaining strength you had left, you got up from the bench and hopped on his back as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Don’t worry about your skirt; my blazer has is covered.” He explained before standing up on his feet. 

Your skirt wasn't even your biggest priority when you knew it should be. You were more worried about Shinsou feeling your heart raising due to how close you two were. 

Shinsou had his hands supporting the back of your knees so you wouldn't fall off. Though he was keeping his composure on the outside, he was just as panicky as you were. 

He was even starting to worry if his hands were beginning to sweat or not. Your black socks only made it below your knees, so Shinsou made sure his hands wouldn't slip anywhere uncomfortable for the both of you.

“You’re awfully quiet back there. Have you already fallen asleep?” He cuts through the silence, keeping his eyes forward before he starts to walk. 

You muffled your response, and he couldn't hear it, making him chuckle lightly. “You know, it’s okay to be vulnerable around me.” He lets out.

Raising your eyebrows, you looked at him, seeing that he had a faint smile plastered on his face. “I don’t know if you noticed, but you really don’t like showing your weakness to others.” He trails off. 

“Do you remember the time we went mountain climbing, and you jumped off to save a kid from falling?” You slowly nodded. 

Your gaze never left Shinsou, and you could see his eyes lighting up the more he talked. “You were as afraid as she was, but you continued to calm her down and not let your emotions get the best of you.”

Without realizing, you had gotten comfortable on Shinsou, having your chin well-rested on his shoulder. “The moment she reunited with her brother, you started sobbing your eyes out.” He laughed. 

You couldn't help but laugh as well, remembering those moments very clearly. “I mean this in a good way, but...” his smile turns into a grin. “Whenever you show this side of you to me, I can’t help but be happy.”

Before you knew it, he was already in front of the entrance. “Do you want to eat anything in particular? I’ll cook,” He offered, opening the door while also keeping you on his back. 

Deciding to take advantage of the situation, you heaved a breath, “honestly, I’ll eat anything right now.”

Although you both planned on discussing what happened yesterday, it was never brought up. It made you and Shinsou realize that it didn't really matter. Because at the end of the day, you both will have each other's backs no matter what. 

And that's your relationship with Hitoshi Shinsou.


	58. Priorities

“You… DID WHAT?!” Mina exclaimed loudly. Shinsou sighed, turning his figure in a different direction as her. “I knew you were going to do that.” He says while cupping his ear she just yelled in. 

Mina lands a hit on his shoulder, “why didn’t you tell me the day it happened?! Is this why (Y/N) has been off lately?!” She asked while taking more steps closer to Shinsou, who was taking steps back at the same time. 

He shoved his hands in his pockets, “not exactly. We’re good now, at least that’s what I feel.” 

She scratched the back of her head in frustration, “and let me get this straight, you two didn’t even talk about it? Like you almost kissing her?” He slowly shook her head, which gains him a sigh from Mina. 

“You’re both hopeless.” 

“What do you mean by that? Our issues were resolved, no?” He folded his arms in his chest. Mina rubbed her temple, “yes, but that’s not the main issue here.”

Shinsou looked at her with raised brows.

“You could’ve used this to your advantage and told her your feelings. You know, the feelings you’ve been feeling for YEARS.”

Shinsou lets her words sink in slowly before he shook his head in disagreement. “I don’t think it's _that_ important.” 

Mina's eyes widened in disbelief, not believing what she was hearing from the male. Shinsou's usually a straightforward person when it comes to almost everything, but when it involves _this,_ he's pretty much hopeless. 

“Don’t you think she would’ve said something? She wouldn’t have freaked out about the kiss otherwise.” 

She sighed again, having her back leaned up against a wall, “(Y/N) was most likely caught off guard and didn't know how to react.”

Mina was doing her best to keep your feelings from him a secret, but if Shinsou continues this, she might just hit him. She dreads being in the middle of this. 

“Just because she was freaking out does not mean she doesn’t feel the same way.” 

Shinsou goes silent before a sigh escaped his lips, having his head turned the other direction, “whatever, it doesn’t matter.” 

Mina glares at him, “are you even listening to anything I’m saying?” 

It's not that he wasn't listening. In reality, Shinsou was just happy that you both can hang out again as if nothing happened. Still, a small part of him was somewhat disappointed. 

“How is she?” She changed the subject, not wanting that painful conversation to prolong any further.

Since your Quirk relied solely on food and rest, you skipping meals affected your body more than you thought it would. You ended up skipping a day of school, Recovery Girl insisting that you do just in case an accident happens. 

“I checked up on her when we arrived, and she was resting. She was probably good to go today, but when Aizawa found out about what happened, he took her straight to Recovery Girl.” 

Mina heaved a breath, “she can be so careless sometimes. I wish I noticed sooner and did something.” She then chuckles, making Shinsou raise his eyebrows. “I’m glad you bumped into her on your way back to the dorm, though. Who knows what would’ve happened if (Y/N) passed out in the middle of school all alone.”

Shinsou slowly nodded. He didn't know how to bring it up, but he was waiting for you to leave. He was planning on checking up on you from afar to see if you were doing alright, and he knew how creepy that plan seemed to be. 

He was so close to ditching that plan, considering that he's already known as the student with the notorious Brainwashing Quirk, so the last thing he wants is being called a stalker too. 

Just when he was about to give up, he heard someone choking nearby and checked where that source was coming from. To his surprise, it was you. 

“Hey Hitoshi, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“I’m pretty sure our stage of relationship has passed that, but go on.” He joked. Mina sighed, “can you be serious for once, jerk?”

She took in a deep breath and locked eyes with him, “if you ever hurt (Y/N), just know that I’m coming for your ass first.” 

“You already told me that a hundred times, I know, and I don’t plan on doing so. So you don't have a thing to worry about.” 

Mina shook her head, “I don’t mean it in that context.” Shinsou quirked up a brow in her direction. “I’m asking you to be there for her, jackass.”

Before Shinsou could respond, she cuts him off. “You better not leave her.” She points at him with dagger eyes. 

It takes a while for him to respond. Even if he tried to avoid you, he would always somehow end up being around you no matter what. In the past, he has tried to, but look how that turned out. 

He never saw himself as someone worth your time and effort, but your way of words managed to persuade someone like Shinsou. It's almost like you were the only light source he saw in his world of darkness. And because he felt the warmth of that light, his surroundings eventually started getting brighter as well. 

You were the first one who ever complimented his Quirk without bringing up the world "villain" and never saw him as the bad guy. People would go out of their way to avoid talking to him, or even look in his direction. If it weren't for you being friends with Shinsou, everyone in Class A would've avoided him at all cost too.

If anything, it felt like you would be the one to leave him. 

Mina lands a hard slap on his back, sending Shinsou back to reality. “Don’t overthink too much, okay? (Y/N) has your back, so it's not all one-sided.” 

“You also have me and your classmates backing you up, so don’t forget about that!” She puffs up. Shinsou, failing to hide his smile, heaves a breath. 

“I’m good, thanks.”

“That wasn't a request, asshole.” She glared at the purple-haired male who just had a smile on his face the whole time.

* * *

“Her supposed transfer date will be this weekend. But, again, I don’t think it’s real and see this as a trap.” Aizawa said through the phone. 

You didn't know why he was telling you all of this information in a call. Usually, he avoids anything that involves technology as much as possible. The last thing he wants is someone hacking into his device and finding out that he's giving out restricted information to a student. 

“So, what do we do?” You asked him, looking out the glass door that led to a balcony. “The best way to go about this is to avoid the bait. To simply ignore it. If it does happen to be real, I have details about the new location.” Aizawa explained. 

You stayed silent, trying to come up with ways on what to do if something goes wrong. 

“We’re going to get her out of there, alright?” You took a deep breath and nodded slowly, “yeah, we will.” You said in a saddened tone. 

Someone suddenly knocks on your door, causing you to hang up on Aizawa quickly. 

The door opens, which reveals a bright Mina, greeting you with her warm grin. “DINNER TIME!” She exclaimed loudly, showing off the tray of food in her hands. 

You let out a breath, relieved that it was just Mina. 

“Hey, you shouldn’t be standing! You’re sick, remember!” She started to scold you. You groaned loudly, leaning your head back, “I’m not sick!” You yelled back. 

Mina ended up eating dinner with you in your room, catching up since you two haven't been hanging out properly. By properly, it's been two days. It made you feel warm being in the same room with her.

Unlike Shinsou who's serious and intimidating, you tend to be clumsy and careless around him. But when you're with Mina, you're suddenly the caretaker and responsible one who has to look out for her. 

When the three of you are together, though, now that's a different story. It's either you're with Shinsou that has to deal with Mina, or you're with Mina whose job is to annoy the hell out of him as much as possible. 

But when those two are against you, it's endless suffering.

You were surprised at first when you realize how friendly Mina and Shinsou are to each other. Guess all of those times you've been worried about him, whether or not he was capable of making friends, were for nothing. 

“Oh yeah, Midnight was also looking for you a while ago.” 

You felt your heart fall to your stomach as your eyes widened in fear. “She was?” You asked instantly. Mina furrowed her brows, nodding her head slowly. 

“She noticed that you were absent and was really worried about you. Even mentioned visiting.” Your heart started to raise as thoughts start flooding your head. 

Mina gives you a reassuring smile, patting you on the back, “it’s fine, (Y/N)! She’s just worried about you. You’re not failing school or anything, so chillax!” 

You completely forgot that no one is aware, and it was most likely just you and Shinsou, though you can't even count him since he doesn't know _that_ much information. 

“Alright,” you played it cool and flashed her a smile. 

Mina then continues to ramble about all of the things you missed, but you had completely tuned her out. 

_Maybe Midnight was on to you. How much did she know? What tricks does she have in store? Is she using you as a puppet like last time? Were you part of her plan up 'til now?_

“Jeez, a lot has happened today. Including that thing between you and Shinsou. I can’t believe you kept it from me.” She said before shoving a spoonful of rice in her mouth. 

You snapped out of her thoughts, looking at her with raised brows and widened eyes. Mina didn't realize what had slipped out of her mouth until she saw the look you were giving her. 

Quickly covering her mouth, she cursed. 

“Toshi told you?!”

“W-WELL YES, BUT ALSO NO!” 

Your face started flushing red as you turned away from her. Mina, on the other hand, was a stuttering mess who was fumbling on her words left and right. 

She leans back, giving up since it can't be helped anymore. “You know what, yeah, he did. And I’m mad about the fact that _he_ told me and you didn’t. So, tell me everything that happened in detail.”

You looked at her with wide eyes, “in detail?”

Mina nodded, “that’s right.” 

You brought your legs to your chest and hugged them, “but I don’t know what to tell you other than the fact that we almost kissed?” 

“Well, tell me why you ran off!”

Judging by the way Mina was talking to you, you knew she wasn't going to let go of this until you tell her everything. Giving in, you explained everything to her from your perspective. 

“So, you’re telling me… you got nervous and ran off?”

You slowly nodded, feeling the judgment in her voice. 

_“This is more difficult than I thought.”_ Mina thought, realizing how difficult it is for her loud mouth to keep this much information without accidentally slipping any. After all, she already screwed up. 

Mina takes in a deep breath and lets it out. “Why didn’t you talk to him about it?” You slowly shrugged, “I thought we were going to, but that conversation moved in a different direction than I thought it would.”

“Don’t you want to take things to another level with Shinsou?”

Her question caught you off guard, making you think a bit more before responding.

“I haven’t really thought much about my relationship with Toshi. I like talking to him and being around him, but... wouldn’t it be sad if we just stopped talking to each other because one of us developed feelings and the other doesn’t feel the same way?”

Mina starts to see the issue and understands why you and Shinsou refuse to bring up your feelings to each other. Still, she can't believe that her two friends are this fucking dense and blind to see their feelings for each other. 

“And I still have a few things to settle before I think about myself and my needs.” You let out. She raises her brows, “what exactly?”

Before you could reply, the door suddenly opens, revealing Shinsou, who had just finished taking a bath. He was drying his hair with a towel on hand, “Bakugou’s looking for you.” Shinsou said to Mina. 

Mina leaned back with a groan, “can you tell him to wait? I’m in the middle of something.” She whined while Shinsou heaved a breath, looking at her with his tired eyes, “fine, I will.”

Before he could close the door, you both met eyes. “Are you feeling better?” He asked. 

You nodded with a faint smile. Shinsou nods back before closing the door, leaving you and Mina alone. 

“Jeez, I can feel the awkwardness from here…” Mina said while hugging herself, shivering. You looked away, nodding, “yeah…”

Mina then snapped her fingers, “why don’t you confess to him during prom?” You slowly shook your head, “have you forgotten that he’s not going to prom? And isn’t that a bit too cliché?”

“Well, do you have any better ideas?” She raised a brow. “Mina—”

“OH, I KNOW! What about you ask him to a picnic date and—” she continued while you drifted back into your thoughts. 

You have all the time in the world to think about your feelings for Shinsou and where you want to take things, but your main priority at the moment is to save Kim, and nothing else. 

You brought her into this, and it's only fair you get her out of it.


End file.
